Naruto: Rise of Iwa
by Unbiased Abyss
Summary: After ten years of battle the war finally ended for Naruto in a cataclysmic fashion. Awakening in a new wrold, Naruto must make hard decisions about what he will do and where his loyalties lie. He discovers that in this new world Iwa is ruled over by Konoha with an iron fist and he discovers that people that should be dead are very much alive. Accepting OC, see profile for details.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

When I thought of this story I was hesitant about writing it. To be honest, I wasn't and am not sure what kind of reception this story will get. I hope you all will find it interesting, exciting, and unique. This story is very AU, so please do not expect it to follow the manga or anime storyline.

This story will be accepting OCs. If you are interested, please go to my profile, fill out the forum there, and PM it to me.

Enjoy...

* * *

Naruto looked to the sky and watched as the world came to an end. The war had been disastrous. Many had thought it would only last a few months, maybe a year, but the thought of ten years never cross any's mind. At the loss of many good shinobi, Madara had finally been taken down but not before he sentenced the world to death.

The insane Uchiha, after being mortally injured in a fight against Naruto, unleashed the chakra he had gathered from the eight beasts he had captured. He attempted his Eye of the Moon plan and it had terrible results. The chakra had reached the moon but instead of reflecting the madman's sharingan it dislodged the celestial body from its orbit and started to pull it toward the planet.

Naruto watched as the object of distant beauty came crashing toward his world. There was nothing he could do. He knew that and, where his younger self would run around, crying opening, trying to find a way to stop it, he stood silent watch over the end. He had fought hard in the war and had taken more lives than he had ever dared to imagine. Mature, composed, intelligent, dangerous...all these things and more described him but all that didn't matter to him now. The world, his world...was ending.

He was aware of people screaming in terror around him, running from the fall of the white beauty in a derange hope that their short foot steps could get them to safety like so many ants under the foot of a god. He was a little surprised that he wasn't scared for the end. He had fought for so long that all he really felt was tired. Tired and maybe relieved that his task, his war, was finally coming to an end.

'It has been a ride, kit,' a deep voice echoed in Naruto's mind.

Naruto smirked and replied, 'I had thought you would tell me to do something, Kurama, but you sound accepting of what is happening.'

The great fox chuckled softly and replied, 'I have seen the birth and death of stars, I have paid witness to the rise and fall of more civilizations that I care to count, and I have forgotten more than any will ever learn. I have experienced everything that life can provide and now I finally get to explore a new frontier. I am not happy with this, kit, but I am content. What of you? Your world is ending and you do nothing but watch?'

'I feel relieved. I have fought in this war for people who constantly argued for my death as they believed that you would die with me, I have suffered the pain of loss, battle, and betrayal, and through it all I have taken the blows without complaint.' Naruto took a deep breath and let it out slowly. 'When I meet Kami I'll be able to hold my head high.'

'That is more than what others can say,' Kurama muttered.

Naruto didn't turn away when the moon crashed into the planet. He watched the land buck and ripple out. He witnessed the black cloud of burning death spread out from the destruction.

Just before the cloud engulfed him, Naruto whispered, "Its been a good run."

'Yes,' Kurama agreed. 'It has."

**-Naruto: Rise of Iwa-**

'Wake up, you lazy ningen!'

Naruto's eyes snapped open and he was in a crouched position prepared for an attack. It took a few moments for him to realize that something was very wrong.

'Shouldn't I be dead?' he pondered.

'And the genius award goes to Captain Obvious, Hero of the land of No Shit.'

'Bite me, Kurama,' Naruto snapped. He took a look around and searched the places a shinobi might hide in the many trees around him. 'Where in the abyss am I?'

'No clue but wherever we are it isn't home. Nothing survives something the size of the moon crashing into their planet.'

'So,' Naruto thought as he jumped into a tree and scurried to the top, 'that means that...okay, this is going to sound crazy.'

'Really crazy,' Kurama remarked.

'But, I don't think we're on our planet any more.'

'That is a distinct possibility. There are other options that we can think about but I won't mention them until I'm sure. For now, we need to figure out where we are.'

'Agreed.' Naruto reached the top of the large tree and squinted into the distance. He could make out several valleys and a he couldn't help but feel that the place seemed familiar. He shook his head slightly and focused again this time spotting a dusting of black smoke in the sky. It was far, almost unnoticeable but he had been at war for ten years and had gotten used to spotting such things.

'Campfire, perhaps?' Kurama questioned.

'No, there's too much smoke for it to be that. Something big is burning and I want to find out what.'

The blonde shinobi jumped from his tree to another and made his way to the area the smoke came from.

'Put on your mask,' the chakra fox muttered. 'For the time being we have none to trust so hide your face in case we make a scene.'

Naruto grabbed the mask that hung at his side and looked at it. The mask was a custom ANBU mask designed with no features whatsoever. It was pitch black with no openings around his eyes; the hard plastic had a seal on the inside of it that allowed the wearing to look out of it as if it wasn't there. On the forehead of the mask was red Kanji for 'nine'. Naruto wore it when he entered the battlefield to tell all his enemies that he was there and to act as a symbol for his allies. A person could inspire hope, but that hope died with the person. However, a symbol could inspire hope generations after the person who wore it passed.

He put the mask on and sealed it to his face with chakra. He looked around in all directions and was satisfied that he could see as if the mask wasn't there. The rest of his attire he chose strictly for battle: black combat boots, black shinobi pants, a crimson leather vest with no sleeves and a seam down the middle in the front where the zipper was, white bandages were wrapped around his mid-biceps and down his arm to his wrists, and black fingerless gloves donned his hands. On his right thigh he had a kunai pouch and sheathed perpendicularly to the small of his back was a ninjato.

'Kurama,' Naruto thought, 'I think it would be wise to change my hair color. Blonde hair was unique in the Elemental Nations and it might hold true here.'

'What color were you thinking?'

He rubbed a hand through his short hair. When he was a kid it spiked like no tomorrow but time had tamed the beast and it how only spiked slighty. 'For now, make it a bit darker. We'll think about what to do with it when we have time to rest.'

The changing of hair color was a simple task for Kurama. He needed his host's permission to do it due to the arrangement they had set up but when he had that agreement all it took was a little bit of his super-dense chakra focused into Naruto's hair. Then all he had to do was tweak the hair color however he pleased. There was a bit more to it then that but the fox never revealed how he did what he did.

Confident that he was ready for whatever he might find, Naruto jumped from the last tree and his eyes widened slightly with what he saw.

It was hard to say that the burned husks of buildings could have been a village at one point in time and that the bodies that littered the ground its people. Fires ate hungrily at a few of the buildings and others smoked with a dead rage. Naruto walked to a person who had been pinned to a wall with a kunai through on of their wrists. They were dead and when the dark-blonde stepped closer the weight of the person combined with the sharp edge of the kunai finally took its toll on the flesh. Without a sound the flesh parted and fell to the ground.

Naruto knelt next to the body, a middle-aged man with brown hair, and rested a hand on the body. It was warm. Fresh. Naruto wasn't the religious type but he still said a quick prayer for the man. Turning his attention to the kunai, Naruto ripped it from the wall and inspected it. It was a typical kunai in size and heft. He turned it in his hand. Every kunai had a tell that identified where it came from but it was never as simple as a maker's mark. He tilted it in the sun light and looked at the grain in metal. The light glinted and showed a diagonal grain going away from the hilt but just at the tip Naruto saw that the grain reversed and that made his heart skip a beat.

The kunai was made in Konoha by the smith that worked at the Flying Dragon Armory. Tenten's Father to be exact, Mashimoto Higashi.

Naruto looked around at the devastation around him. It didn't make sense. Konoha had been destroyed eight years into the war and with the moon being dropped on their heads everything should have been gone.

'Kurama-'

'I have a few theories, kit. Let me gather a bit more information before I say anything.'

Naruto nodded slowly. He dropped the kunai and turned toward the middle of the village and began to walk. He paid witness to the devastation that had visited the town. Bodies littered the ground here and there. Some burned, some with wet blood around mortal wounds, and others that were dismembered. If it was Konoha that attacked this place, that had committed these atrocities, he knew that it wasn't his Konoha.

His feet brought him to the village square and stopped him at the foot of a virtual mountain of bodies. He could see men and women, young and old in the pile. It seemed that none had been spared.

The shifting of stones alerted Naruto to someone behind him and he slowly looked over his shoulder. In the doorway of a decimated structure was a small girl, about as small as he had been when he was twelve and maybe even smaller. She had shoulder length black hair, her eyes were a dull green, and her slightly tanned skin was littered in cuts and bruises. She looked at him with no emotion and Naruto knew that she was in shock.

Turning bodily to her he said, "Hello, child."

It wasn't the most appropriate thing to say when surrounded by the bodies of people she undoubtedly knew and the burned village that she called home but he didn't know what else to say. No words of comfort came to him and if he told this girl that everything would be alright he would be lying to her. Everything she knew was gone as far as he knew and there was nothing he could say or do to give that back to her.

To be expected the girl didn't say or do anything. Naruto took a slow step toward her and then another. He worked his way to her and when he was a few feet away from her he stopped.

'What will you do, kit? If you leave her she will die.'

Naruto extended a hand to the girl and said softly, "I cannot give back to you what you have lost but I can try to give you a life worth living."

'You would take her?' Kurama asked.

'There is nothing else I can do. Besides, she reminds me of me when I was young and that scares me.'

Kurama huffed and muttered, 'And you wonder why I have come to respect you, kit.'

The girl stared at him and not a single muscle moved. At first he wasn't sure if she had heard him and he was about to repeat what he said when several chakra signatures came within his sensing radius. His ability to sense chakra wasn't something to brag about but it was far enough that he had time turn toward them and palm a kunai.

There were three of them and from their dress it was easy to tell that they were ANBU. They landed a short distance from Naruto and observed him while he did the same. the only differences between the three were their masks: Hawk, Weasel, and Tiger. The masks meant little since they were chosen at random and were changed nearly every day.

Tiger, the apparent leader of the three, said, "You were not in the village during the punishment. Who are you?" The voice was female.

Naruto ignored the question and returned with his own, "Punishment? What could a village of civilians do to warrant a death sentence?"

Tiger and the other ANBU took a step back and readied themselves for battle. Naruto knew he could be intimidating but the to get such a reaction from these ANBU demonstrated that they were either undisciplined or hadn't been in a war. He was careful as to not give the ANBU a reason to attack him and after some time the Konoha shinobi relaxed.

"It was discovered that this village was a meeting place for rebel shinobi and that the citizens were actively sheltering them. As an example, the village was destroyed and its citizens executed," Tiger answered. "Now, tell me, who are you?"

"A wondering shinobi who saw the smoke," he replied. "No one of importance."

Tiger studied him and said, "With that vague of answer you could be a rebel for all I know."

"Would a rebel, who had fled this village in the wake of an attack, return for any reason? If any had survived the attack they would hate the rebels for abandoning them to this fate. So, if I was a rebel I would be a fool to return here where only hate would welcome me."

Tiger nodded slowly. "You must be of the Horo Guild, then. You and yours are always so secretive, even when you are under contract with Konoha. I gather you were sent as a representative of your guild for this attack. A little late but it is good to see that your guild is demonstrating their support."

"Taichou," Weasel said from behind Tiger. "Look there, a survivor."

Tiger looked at Weasel and to were the man indicated. It seemed that the girl that Naruto found had moved to his side and was now out in the open.

"It seems that we missed one," Tiger commented. "Hawk, take care of it."

"Hai," Hawk snapped and walked toward Naruto and the girl.

Naruto watched the ANBU come toward him and as he contemplated his options he felt a small hand grab his own. He looked down at his side and saw that the girl had grabbed his hand. She looked up at him with sad-fearful eyes that pleaded with him to do something.

"You asked me who I am," Naruto said as he looked back to the ANBU. Hawk was close to him now and the man had no time to react when Naruto lashed out with his kunai. The blade slide easily into the man's neck and ripped out with an arch of crimson blood. Hawk dropped to the ground, dead, and Naruto continued talking without missing a beat, "I am Kyubi."

Naruto had to give the ANBU credit, they both reacted quickly to the attack. Weasel charged him and Tiger started to rip through hand signs at tremendous speeds. The attack would have been lethal against an under prepared opponent but Naruto was never without a plan. A hand exploded from the ground under Tiger and grabbed her leg. The earth clone he had created pulled Tiger into the ground and buried her up to her neck.

While his clone dealt with Tiger, Naruto engaged Weasel. The man's taijutsu was one that Naruto was familiar with: the Uchiha's Seeker style. That meant that his opponent was most likely an Uchiha but that didn't make any sense since the clan had become extinct with the death of Madara.

Just where the hell was he?

Blocking a jab, Naruto returned with a powerful combo that broke through the man's defenses and allowed several strikes to make contact. The man staggered back and dropped when a kunai found a home in his heart.

ANBU were selected from the ranks of Jonin and Chunin and Naruto guessed that these three were counted among the Chunin. If they had been Jonin, Hawk would have blocked his kunai and the fight would have been far more difficult but with how easily it ended spoke of the inexperience of his opponents.

The masked blonde walked toward the trapped Taichou. People like the ANBU Taichou, who could so easily write off other's lives, disgusted him. As he neared her several other chakra signatures appeared and he launched himself back from the ANBU. Just in time, it seemed, since a blue swirling ball smashed into his clone and a shadow snaked along the ground, just missing his own shadow.

Dust filled the air from the attacks and Naruto took advantage of it by send several clones out to surround his new opponents. One of his clones snatched the small girl next to him and fled into the forest.

The dust settled and Naruto could honestly say he was shocked beyond belief with what he saw. There, standing before him was Shikamaru Nara, Choji Akimichi, Sakura Haruno, and a blonde-haired shinobi pulling Tiger from the ground. Each of them looked serious and were years younger than he remembered them.

"Hinata, are you alright?" The blonde-haired newcomer asked, his voice was filled with concern.

The boy removed Tiger's mask, revealing Hinata Hyuga.

"Hai," she answered, "I'm fine."

The boy sighed in relief before growling loudly and turning toward Naruto.

Naruto looked at the boy in disbelief. The boy looked exactly like him but ten years younger. The only thing that was different was that he didn't have the whisker like scares on his face.

"Troublesome," Shikamaru muttered. "Naruto, ANBU aren't supposed to take off their masks. You and Hinata are both going to get in trouble for this."

'Kurama,' Naruto thought, 'what the hell is going on?'

* * *

Le gasp!

I hope you have enjoyed this first taste of what I hope will be an exciting and unique story.

Please review, fav, and follow.

Until next time...  
-Unbiased Abyss


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

Thanks for all the supportive reviews and OCs. I'm glad to see that people like the story so far.

As a note: I will always be accepting OCs. So, if you suddenly have an idea of a character, please send them in. My recommendation for any who submit OCs; if you wish to see your character sooner, rather than later, submit a Rebel OC. You can also submit a Konoha one but at this point in the story Rebel characters will be making more appearances

That's everything. Enjoy...

* * *

'Kurama,' Naruto thought, 'what the hell is going on?'

'Given the information I have at my disposal I would venture to guess that we are in a parallel dimension or a dimension of existence that closely bordered our own,' the great fox replied. 'In any case, these people in front of you are not the friends that you knew. Stay focused.'

Naruto mentally grunted his agreement and studied the people who stood against him. It was interesting to see another him, scary even, but he would ponder this other him's existence when the child with him and his lives were not threatened. Chibi-Naruto, as he decided to call him, was younger than him by what he guessed to be ten years. He was shorter than him, his hair was far more spiky, and there were no scares on his cheeks but everything else was the same besides the strange orange jumpsuit the boy wore.

Where he was mature and hardened by war, this boy glared openly at him with unbridled rage. It was impressive that the boy had not tried to attack him as that would have been a fatal mistake regardless of what he looked like or who he was.

"You hurt Hinata," Chibi-Naruto growled.

"Your shinobi slaughtered this village," Naruto shot back. There was another difference between them. His voice was deeper and had a rough growl to it while the boy's was high-pitched a just sounded scratchy.

The boy backed down lightly but his glare didn't lessen.

"Naruto, stop it," Shikamaru said. The Nara hadn't taken his eyes off of Naruto for a second. He was always the smart one.

It was strange to look at this group and try to identify them as unknowns. They were faces he knew well, faces of friends known and trusted and in one of their cases a traitor he killed himself. It was odd to hear Shikamaru's voice as the guy had died four years into the war. Naruto had held him in his arms as the Nara told him all he could about the enemy that had mortally wounded him. He had died with a smile on his face, happy that he would finally get to see his sensei, Asuma, and his wife, Temari, at long last.

"Everyone be careful," Hinata warned. "He killed my support and nearly me without a moments hesitation."

Hinata's death he had only heard of but from what he had heard it was an undeserved death for the kind and gentle Hyuga. He had gotten to know her and after he had told her that she didn't love him but the idea of him they had formed a rather strong friendship. He had worn a white ribbon into battle after that and only removed it when he ripped the throat out of the man who killed her. His way of honoring her wasn't the best but he knew that she would have understood.

Shikamaru squinted and muttered, "Right." After a few seconds he asked, "Mind telling me what your message to the Hokage is?"

"Huh?" Chibi-Naruto questioned. "What do you mean, Shikamaru?"

"I mean, this guy obviously wasn't here when our shinobi attacked this village, there would have been reports of him. He came after and that points toward him not being associated with this village. Most likely he just happened upon it. He took the time to walk around the village and, if he is as good as I think he is, he could have avoided all detection while he was at it. But, instead, he displayed himself openly probably in an attempt to find survivors or the ones responsible. Judging by the girl next to him he found both.

"With all this I figured that he could have left while our line of sight was broken thanks to your Rasengan, Naruto. He didn't leave, however, and didn't even move an inch from his spot. This means two things: he wants to fight us or he has something to say. If he wanted to fight us he would have attacked when Naruto was busy helping Hinata and would have taken advantage of the dust cloud to get a better position. He didn't do this and, going by how the bodies of the ANBU are lied out, he only attacked when he or the girl was threatened. His only reason to be here is to give us a message and I'm blindly guessing that it is for the Hokage."

Naruto didn't say anything and he heard Kurama say in the back of his mind, 'Damn, that little shit is smart.'

Naruto suppressed a chuckle and said, "Tell your Hokage that Konoha has earned Kyubi's wrath. This," he motioned to the death and destruction around him, "will not go unpunished."

"Nine-tails?" Sakura asked. "What does that mean?"

Naruto didn't stick around to see what the younger shades of his past decided what to do with him and shunshined out of the village. He sat down on a large branch on a tree and contemplated what he had seen. The clone he had sent away with the child arrived at the tree seconds after him and held the girl to make sure she didn't fall out.

'Furry,' Naruto thought, 'I've held off long enough. What happened to us?"

'Don't call me furry you jack-wagon!' Kurama huffed and continued, 'It would seem that the combined forces of thirty-six tails worth of super-dense corrosive chakra and the moon crashing into the planet was enough to rip open a small hole between ours and this dimension. Before you ask, imagine two pieces of paper and connecting them for a heartbeat. That would be a highly bastardized version of what happened to us.'

'So, this is a close parallel dimension?'

'Yes.'

'If there is a me here then there must be a you here. Why didn't they react to the name, Kyubi?'

'You've made an incorrect assumption, kit,' Kurama said. 'You, in the grand scope of things, aren't special. I, however, am. I came into existence as a byproduct of the many different dimensions coming into existence. At that time I was combined with the other Tailed Beasts to form the Juubi and we existed outside of all reality. We, as the Juubi, entered your dimension, causing us to lose a significant portion or our power, and as such there will never be another me no matter how many other dimensions there are.'

'... ... ... That is one major ego boost isn't it?'

'You have no idea,' the fox chuckled.

'So, this is a world, similar to mine but with the exception that you never came here. That would mean that we are in Iwa,' Naruto stated.

'And it is ten years behind your's.'

'Got it... ... ... It's weird to see them again.'

Kurama sighed heavily. 'They are not the friends that you knew, Naruto. These are new people who have no recognition as to who you are. They've no memories of your past or the war you fought. Your friends are dead, kit, but there is always hope to create more.'

'At least I have your furry ass until my end,' Naruto joked.

'You are taking this rather well.'

'It's not like me to curl up into a ball and die, Kurama. Even if this isn't my home, I'll still fight to protect those who cannot protect themselves.'

'You would go against Konoha?'

'You saw what they did to that village. They would have killed the girl if I had not interfered. That is not the Konoha I fought for. That is not the Konoha my friends died for.'

Naruto felt Kurama leave his thoughts and he checked on the girl his clone cradled. She was young and couldn't have been more than twelve years old. She was like him, in a sense. Everything she ever knew and loved was gone now and she was left with nothing. He reached down and brushed some hair that fell over her face and decided. She would have him and even if he wasn't much he would fill her life with as much joy and happiness as he could.

**-Naruto: Rise of Iwa-**

The night passed quickly and soon the birds were greeting the rising sun with chirps and whistles. Naruto had watched the village through the night and was confident that all the Konoha forces had left the ruins. It would take them about a week of hard travel to reach the Iwa-Konoha boarder and two more weeks to reach the city of Konoha itself. So, unless the Hokage were outside of Konoha he had some time before the name 'Kyubi' would be on the Kage's lips.

He paused in his thoughts. If the Kyubi never attacked his village in this dimension that meant that the Hokage would be Minato Namikaze, his Father. That also meant that Kushina Uzumaki Namikaze would still be alive as well. Even knowing that they were not the people who sired him, even knowing that they were not his parents, he couldn't help a small twinge of longing forming in his heart. One day, perhaps, he would meet them and while it wouldn't be as a son even getting the opportunity to know them would be enough for him but for the mean time they were with Konoha and he, by the strange events that brought him to this new world, was against them.

'What's this?' Naruto pondered when he saw three figures emerge from the forest to the North of him.

They stopped short, just outside the city, and seemed to start talking amongst themselves. After some time they walked cautiously into the village. Naruto continued to watch them as they worked their way deeper into the ruins. From time to time one of the three would check a body while the other two kept watch and it became apparent to Naruto that these people were not associated with Konoha.

He banished the longing that had formed in his heart and commanded his clone to keep the girl safe. Putting his mask on, he dropped down from his tree. He ghosted over to one of the buildings, most likely a house from the items that were inside it, and watched the three shinobi.

"Akiraka, the child," one of the men called to the only woman of the group while he pointed at the small body of a little boy. The man had heavily tanned skin, purple eyes, buzz cut white hair, and stood five inches taller than both Akiraka and the last member of their group.

The woman, Akiraka, had shoulder length dark brown hair that she kept in a rough ponytail, auburn eyes that glanced around the charred remains of buildings and people alike in quick fleeting glances, light tanned skin, and stood at a height of five foot five. She was slim but that meant little to a shinobi and Naruto didn't doubt that she had some power packed into her small frame. She checked the boy but to no avail.

"Konoha will pay for this," the other man said. He was the same height as the woman, had blonde hair that just brushed his shoulder, grey eyes, and he was a slightly darker tan then the woman.

"Keep looking. There might be survivors," White-hair said. "Although it seems unlikely. If we had moved faster, gotten here sooner, we could have stopped this." The man gestured to the carnage.

"What's happened has happened, Takeshi," Akiraka said. "The only thing we can do now is search for survivors and give respect to the dead."

Takeshi looked at her, his eyes filled with sorrow, and replied, "If Otou-sama had not delayed us we could have made it in time. Damn it! I shouldn't have told him. I shouldn't have told anyone!"

She huffed and said, "Yes, it's all your fault. It's your fault that Kokuyoseki-san delayed us in fear that his clan's Kekki Genkai would fall into Konoha hands, it's your fault that Kagemusha-san and I tagged along against your asking, it's your fault Honda-teme threatened and attacked these villages, it's your fault that the Sandaime Tsuchikage didn't pursue peace when it was clear Iwa was defeated, and it's your fault that some of the rebel shinobi were spotted in the area around this village."

The two men looked at her, wide eyed, for a moment before Blondey said, "Bit harsh don't you think?"

"The baka needed to hear it," she replied.

Blondey patted Takeshi on the shoulder. "She's right you know," he said matter-of-factly. "This wasn't you fault any more than it was mine or Akiraka's. I understand that you feel that you could have done something to stop this, Akiraka and I feel the same, but it happened and the best we can do now is look for survivors and show the dead some respect. The time for payback will come later."

"Thanks, Kagemusha, you're right," Takeshi said with a sad smile on his face. "You're both right."

"Of course we are," Akiraka commented. "Never worry about 'what ifs'. Shit happens and you deal with it as it comes."

"She's right again," Kagemusha said with a grin. The grin changed to a frown and he continued, "Besides, you and I have another thing to worry about."

As the three talked Naruto moved as quietly as a shadow across the house he watched from and stole across an alley. He entered what looked like a shop and hid in a shadow that was created by the rising sun. He peered out of the dark and listen carefully.

Takeshi nodded slowly and a grim look crossed his face. "The shinobi who turned themselves in to protect the three other villages that were threatened."

"We were going to do the same here," Kagemusha said, "but it seems that we were too late. As it stands, the higher-ups need to know about this...this atrocity."

"And we need to regroup to see just what kind of a blow this had on our forces," Takeshi added. He looked at Akiraka and said, "You know, you could still join the Resistance? The higher-ups would welcome someone of your caliber."

Akiraka smirked. "You know my position on this matter, Takeshi. I-" she whipped around, pulling out a kunai from her pouch on her left leg. "Who's there!" She yelled.

'Interesting,' Naruto thought and couldn't stop a smirk from spreading across his face. The woman was good to have noticed him or incredibly paranoid which wasn't necessarily a bad thing for a shinobi. He saw the two men fall into position behind her and watched their eyes search the building he haunted.

He had a choice: he could reveal himself, get more information about a few things, and then wing it from there, or his could leave unnoticed and avoid a possible conflict. He chose the former and stepped out.

The three immediately tensed and gave him a once over. He knew that his mask was a creepy thing but he still thought the tension the they were giving off was a bit much. Sure they probably thought he was a Konoha shinobi, an ANBU most like due to the mask, but ANBU weren't that big of a deal. Hell, most of them were Chunin since most Jonin were well known for specific skills or fighting styles.

Taking advantage of their silence he asked, "From what I overheard, two of you are part of the Resistance and the other is sympathetic to the cause. Is that right?"

Takeshi glared at him but answered, "I and Kagemusha are members, yes. My name is Takeshi. Akiraka has nothing to do with us so if you are of Konoha I would ask that you leave her out of this."

"Like hell," she snapped.

"Loyalty. I can respect that," Naruto commented.

Kagemusha, a wakizashi in his hand, asked in a commanding tone, "It seems that whatever force of Konoha that attacked this village is gone now. Who might you be that you find interest in the private conversations of others?"

"At the moment my name is unimportant, so for the meantime you can call me, Kyubi," Naruto replied. "You mentioned something about shinobi giving themselves up to Konoha, mind expanding on that?"

"You must not be from around these parts," Kagemusha responded.

He shrugged. "You could say that I'm new to the area."

"They gave themselves up so that several villages wouldn't be destroyed like this one," Takeshi answered.

"They were not killed outright?" he questioned as a plan started to form in his head. If he wanted to join this 'Resistance' he would need to gain their trust and he would need to do it in such a way that his name would spread throughout both Iwa and Konoha. He had gotten a start on that with killing two ANBU and giving a message to the Hokage; it was only a bonus that one of the messengers was one, Chibi-Naruto Namikazi, the son of the current Hokage. Give it three weeks, two if they used a messenger hawk, and the name Kyubi would be on the Hokage's lips.

"No, they were taken prisoner and are going to be executed in front of the Konoha Occupations Force's leader, Atsushi Honda, at the same time."

"A demonstration of power then," he muttered. "Which villages were threatened and when is the execution?"

The lovely Akiraka provided him the information. "Otia, Shingmi, Kochi, and this village, Ehime. The prisoners are being taken to the Konoha run city of, Hanma. They are to be executed in three days time."

"Where might Hanma be?" he asked.

"Fifty league out from the Iwa-Waterfall-Grass tri-boarder."

"How much trade goes through it daily?"

"It's become a major stop for all northern trade, so quiet a bit."

'Kit, I know what you're thinking,' Kurama budged in on the blonde's thoughts.

'And?'

'If you were anyone else, I would say that you're insane but with a good plan and a little luck we should be able to pull it off. There are a few things that need addressing though. We don't know the layout of the city, we don't know how many shinobi or the quality of shinobi stationed there, and we don't have any form of back up.'

'That's what they're for,' Naruto replied and indicated the three shinobi in front of him.

Kurama was silent for a moment before he growled happily and said, 'This might work. We will have to create a basic plan, no specifics due to lack of knowledge of the area and I don't full trust the memory of humans, even if they are shinobi. The distance will make it close. So close, that you will not have the luxury to rest before executing the plan. The second you get to the city, you will have to enter it, find the prisoners, and get out before they are missed.'

'I have a few ideas, if you're interested.'

Naruto explained his plan and both he and Kurama, after a few tweaks by the giant fox, agreed that it was the best course of action they would have. The timing would have to be perfect but Naruto was confident that it could be done.

Turning his full attention back to the outside world, he looked up at the sun and estimated the direction he would have to go to reach the city. It was to the north-east and he took a slow, purposeful step out of the building. The three shinobi tensed but he paid them no mind as he turned to the left and walked down the road.

It was on his fifth step that the one called Takeshi called out, "Where are you going?"

Naruto glanced back. "To Hanma, of course. Those shinobi won't be saving themselves anytime soon. If I know Konoha right, they will have chakra surppressent shackles on each of them, so those men and women will need help."

"Wait," Akiraka said. "You're going there...to save them?"

"I'm certainly not going there to watch an execution," Naruto commented. "I've never been a fan of those things."

He took a few more steps and look back at the group again. "You coming or not?"

* * *

I have a feeling that the next chapter will have a lot going on in it.

If you like the story, please review and tell me that you like it. Also Fav and Follow so that you don't miss an update.

Special thanks to: Crossroader32(creator of Akiraka) and Conan's Best Deduction(creator of Kagemusha) I hope I have and will use your characters to your satisfaction. Thanks again!

Until next time...  
-Unbiased Abyss


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

Thanks for the great reviews everyone. They have been really supportive and it seems that a lot of people like this idea. I do too! Haha.

Enjoy...

* * *

Naruto set a grueling pace for the group with too few and too short breaks. He had poked the minds of the three shinobi with him for as much information they could remember about Hanma, Honda, and Konoha in general. Just because Kurama didn't trust human memory didn't mean that Naruto had to take the ancient beings advice. He was human, damn it, and he needed all the information he could get. The giant fox and he had thought of a general plan but Naruto wanted a bit more to go on then: get in, find captured shinobi, free captured shinobi, get out. As genius as that plan was, he wanted a more reliable plan that didn't involve him winging the entire thing. Kurama had grumbled that it was a good plan but Naruto had set his foot down on it.

The three shinobi with him had precious little about Konoha and all they had to say about Honda was that he was a monster without morals but for Hanma they knew some things that intrigued him immensely.

Apparently Minato Namikaze had paid the village a single visit and that was during it's construction. As it turned out, the city was built in the shape of a giant seal. Naruto had heard that his late Father was good at seals but to do something like that was ingenious. The seal was a sensory seal that picked up and tracked all chakra signatures that entered its diagram. It was sensitive enough to pick up a civilians weak chakra and strong enough to sense two hundred meters above and fifty meters below the village. There would be no flying or tunneling into that place but Naruto didn't plan on entering that way. He and his three companions were going to walk right in.

The layout of the village was a three-tier system with a pass needed to get into the center most section and in the center of the entire village was a single tower. The center section was the shinobi district where only Konoha shinobi could enter and the tower was where Honda ruled the conquered Iwa with a tight grip and ever watchful eye. The prisoners would be executed in the second section so that the citizens of Iwa could see and understand the punishment given to all who opposed Konoha and, more importantly, Honda's rule.

The prison of Hanma was an interesting concept that he had never heard of being utilized before. The prison was the third wall that separated the third or center district with the second. The cells were at ground level with three-inch thick glass walls so that the people of Hanma could see the prisoners inside. There was no privacy, no heating or cooling, and, if what Kagemusha said was right, interrogations were done in the cells themselves. There were no beds, a bucket served for waste, and meager meals were given once a day. That type of treatment couldn't be justified for any crime, save the most heinous, and, to make matters even more complicated, each cell was fitted with a seal that exploded if the glass and stone walls, cement floor, or the stone ceiling was broken. The only way to get someone in and out of the cells was by the door located in the inside of the wall like jail.

Naruto had his work cut out for him and knew that this mission would rely on skill and luck alone. He had a plan to get into the city, deal with the massive sensory seal, and get to the prison but he was still working out a way to get the captured shinobi out of the cells and out of the village without getting caught. He decided put his thoughts about the second and most important part of the plan on hold until he could see the cells for himself.

Other than getting information from them, there was little to no talking between them. In fact, he got the feeling that the three were coming with him more out of curiosity than anything but he couldn't blame them for it. The feeling was mutual, he didn't trust them either but during the course of the mission and after he hoped he would gain at least a little of their trust.

They arrived at Hanma the night before the execution, several hours earlier than the great fox had guessed and Naruto chalked it up to him underestimating the three shinobi with him. There was a forest with a small hill and clearing two miles to the south of the village and Naruto got his team preped for the mission.

He pulled four sheets of paper from his kunai pouch and offered one to each of the shinobi. None took them.

'Smart bastards, I'll give them that,' Naruto thought. Aloud he explained, "They are chakra suppressant seals. Put them on the back of your neck and they will suppress your chakra for six hours or until you or someone breaks it."

"I hope you can understand why we aren't going to put those on," Kagemusha said and Naruto understood the reason.

Akiraka, however, was far more blunt. "We don't trust you."

Where a less experienced shinobi might have been offended, Naruto laughed and said, "If I were you, I wouldn't trust me."

Pulling one of the sheets separate from the pile, Naruto bent his head forward and slapped the seal onto the back of his neck. The effect could be felt instantly. The feeling was hard to describe but if Naruto had to put it to words he would say that it felt like someone was pulling a part of him from his body. It didn't hurt but felt more ticklish, similar to that tickling feeling a person gets in their nose during a nosebleed.

"Shit, you really did it," Akiraka said with her eyebrows raised in surprise.

"I always keep my word," he replied. "With this on your chakra will be down to the level of a civilian. At that level, you will have no jutsu save the henge at your disposal." The reason for that was because henge required a tiny amount of chakra to use. It was so little, in fact, that many ladies of nobility would pay a shinobi to teach them the henge so that they could hide the effects of age from the public.

"What's the plan?" Takeshi asked as he took a seal and placed it, without hesitation, on the back of his neck.

Naruto performed a henge, something that he found so simple that he didn't even bother with the hand-seals anymore, and his image changed instantly to that of a grey-haired black-eyed man with a nose that had been broken one too many times and cloths that farmers commonly wore in Iwa. "We walk in, pass through the checkpoint, and head to the cells as nonchalantly as possible and by that I mean we walk right to them. We are all farmers from the border of grass that heard about the execution and wish to see the rebellious scum who would go against our glorious and praiseworthy conquerors. From there we will draw the guards away from the cells and get the prisoners out."

"How?" Akiraka asked as she hesitantly grabbed a seal.

"How what?" Naruto asked, confused.

"How do we draw the guards away and get the prisoners out?" she asked in more detail. She eyed the seal but didn't move to put it on.

Naruto grinned. "With these," he exclaimed and pulled out a stack of paper. On each was a simple storage seal with something sealed into each as indicated by the seal for 'full' in the middle of the intricate circle.

He focused on the stack of paper for a few seconds, changing the level of chakra in each one, and then did something that only someone skilled with fuuinjutsu could do.

As a general rule, Naruto hated to show off. He had seen several shinobi, good shinobi, die because they didn't know how to hold back and not show too much to the enemy. Showing off can give valuable info to people a shinobi might not want knowing. So, as a general thing, he didn't do it, but he did understand when it could be useful and the situation he was in was an example of such. By showing his skill in seals and showing that he wasn't holding back his abilities in front of them, he would gain an ounce of respect from the three shinobi with him. That was good to have if he had to trust them to watch his back during this mission.

As he focused his chakra into the paper he forced it into specific points on the corners. When the chakra was where he wanted it he fished for a bottle of ink with his other hand. It was awkward but he managed to bring it out and he dumped the ink onto the paper.

It was at that point that the ink did something most un-ink-like. Instead of staining the paper and ruining the seals already present, the ink flowed over the paper and settled where he had focused his chakra. He held the chakra in place as the ink saturated each piece of paper and when it was done he released his concentration.

He showed the new and improved paper to his audience and they each saw that there were four new seals in each corner of the papers.

Takeshi, wide-eyed, asked in wonder, "You...you know fuuinjutsu?"

"We'll talk about it later," Naruto said as he dismissed the subject. The white-haired pervert had taught him and the man's loss still pained him.

"The center one is a storage seal, obviously," Kagemusha said, "but what do the ones in the corners do?"

Naruto started to separate the seals into two piles and answered, "That would take forever to explain, maybe later. For now, all you need to know is that you place it on the glass of the cells, seals facing the glass. Have the shinobi inside place their hand in the rough area of the paper on their side of the glass and then send a small pulse of chakra into the seal. Do not, under any circumstances channel chakra near these things. Anything more than a henge and the residual chakra let off will set them off. They're what you might call...unstable."

"What happens when we set it off?" Takeshi asked.

"You'll see," Naruto responded mysteriously. "What I will say is this; Konoha has never fought an enemy that has more than the general knowledge of seals. They think that these cells are impenetrable and I mean to prove them wrong. Are you all ready?"

"I notice that we aren't very involved in this plan," Kagemusha said. "In fact, is seems to me that you could do this by yourself if you wished."

"It's true that I'm performing the bulk of the work with the seals and what not," Naruto responded, "but that's because I don't have any inkling as to any of your abilities or what you are capable of. Each of you may be able to do something that could make this mission that much easier but I'm not aware of what that something might be. You could tell me but I wouldn't truly know what you can do unless I see it first hand and this mission is a one time thing. There is no redo button if we mess up and, with that in mind, I made a plan that I knew could be done with the information I have."

"The simple truth is that I don't know any of you," he continued. "Maybe, in the future, I will get to know all of you. We may become friends or we may never see each other again when this is all said and done but at this very moment I don't know anything other than your names and that you are all rather well conditioned to have made the run here in such a short time."

Kagemusha looked at him knowingly before turning his attention onto the suppression seal he had taken while Naruto was talking. He turned it in his hand a few times and Naruto could just imagine the man saying 'to hell with it' in his mind because he slapped it onto the back of his neck far harder than was needed.

Akiraka followed suit but didn't fail to shot a warning glare at Naruto. She wasn't happy with not having access to her chakra but it seemed she was willing to trust him if it meant getting these shinobi out. To woman may have claimed to not be part of the Resistance but she sure wasn't acting like it in this case. Maybe one of the people captured was a friend of hers, Naruto pondered the thought a bit before filing it away into his 'find out later' bin.

Takeshi raised his hand slightly and, when he had Naruto's attention, he asked, "What about that girl?" He pointed toward the young girl that Naruto's clone had set down before it vanished due to Naruto cutting off his chakra and disrupting the jutsu.

She was awake and her purple eyes took in everything that was happening without a twitch of emotion. Naruto was concerned about the child. His clone had cleaned her up, wrapped her wounds, and did his best to keep her comfortable during the hellish run but, while she was fine physically, he knew that she would never go back to the child she once was. He may not have known her before but he could easily imagine a small, shy smile on her face as she ran around with other kids playing tag and whatever else kids played.

Naruto grinned. "She's coming with us, of course."

"WHAT!" Takeshi and company exclaimed loudly.

Naruto rubbed his ear and mumbled, "Didn't have to yell."

Akiraka stomped over to him and pointed a finger into his face. Let it be known that, even if the woman was a little more than half a foot shorter than him, she scared Naruto something furious when she got pissed. "It is way too dangerous for a child, nonetheless a civilian child, to come on a mission of this caliber!"

Naruto held up his hands in a placating manner and countered, "And leaving a little girl here, without protection, is any worse?"

Akiraka didn't say anything and he continued, "The safest place for her is with us. I don't like it one bit but that is the way it is. This mission could go South in a hurry and the last thing I want is to put her in harm's way but I don't have a choice. I need each of you as back up for this mission and with this seal on the back of my neck I can't maintain anything more than a henge without the aid of a seal of some sort and even then the jutsu would be weak and liable to fail at any moment."

"So," Akiraka said slowly, "we don't have a choice." She looked between him and the girl. She nodded once and said, "I'll watch her and if this goes to shit I'll get her out."

Naruto frowned. "I was going to do that. Do you think you can handle keeping an eye on her and also do anything I need you to do?"

She smirked and commented, "Odd. It's starting to sound like you don't trust me."

"I don't," Naruto said plainly, "but I'm short on friends at the moment and you three are the only ones I have to help me with this. Now, is there anything else before we go?"

They shook their heads and henged themselves. Each had black-hair and black-eyes and each also took on facial structures that closely resembled Naruto's own henge. All things considered, the three shinobi and the small girl looked like his children and he was confident that they would have no problems passing into the city.

**-Naruto: Rise of Iwa-**

"Hold!" called one of the guards on duty at the South gate.

The gate and wall protruding from it were tall. Really tall. Naruto took a shot in the dark that they peaked at maybe seventy feet and the gate house itself at one hundred feet. The entire thing was made out of large stone bricks that had an iron-grey color to them and had a few arches reaching up here and there for dramatic effect.

Naruto and his merry group stopped just before the massive open gate and Naruto couldn't help but to reminisce about Konoha's large gate before it was smashed asunder.

The guard looked each one of them over carefully. Henge were fun things in the sense that they were hard to detect if nothing dramatic was done. A change of height and weight could be detected but if it was just something as simple as a change of appearance then it made for a useful tool.

"It sure is late to be travelling," the guard said. He was dressed in standard Konoha garb and he hooked his thumbs into the pockets of his shinobi grade pants. "What's your business in Hanma?"

Naruto grinned and said, "The fam and I are here to see those traitorous rabble executed tomorrow."

At that point the young girl raised her fist into the air and said, "Oooiiii," in the most monotone voice Naruto had ever heard and he had been friends with Gaara before his end.

Hiding the shock of hearing the child say something, even if it wasn't really a word, he patted her on the head, beamed with pride, and exclaimed rather loudly, "See! Even the little one is excited to see those rascals get their comings."

The guard stared at the child. He gave her a wide berth when he walked around to the front of the group and commented, "Still, it's really late to be travelling. Aren't you worried about bandits?"

"Now, why would I have to be worried about that with Konoha's finest keeping the people of Iwa safe," Naruto cheered. "Why, Konoha taking over has been the best thing to happen to this country since it's founding."

The guard cocked an eyebrow up and said, "You really that happy about it?"

"Why sure. I've worked a farm about thirty leagues out from here and I always had problems with bandits and brigands. Then Konoha showed up and they were gone. Best damned thing that's ever happened to me. Well, besides the birth of me children that is." He waved toward his group.

The guard smiled and said, "It's good to see that someone appreciates us. Sign you and your family in and go on into Hanma."

Naruto thanked the man in a grandiose manner and made a big deal of having his signature on a document that would be in Konoha's records, no matter how miniscule.

As he walked through the gate he called to the guard, "Have a great night, Guard-san!"

"And you, sir," the guard called back.

The inside of Hanma was an impressive sight. It seemed that Konoha had built up tall walls as that guiding lines in the seal the city formed and in the walls they had incorporated houses, shops, storage, and anything else that the city needed. For the script that went into the seal they had made it into a decoration of sorts. Upon entering, Naruto was presented with a beautiful sculpture made of a clear, light-blue crystal. The piece of art flowed like waves and rose up to arc well above his head.

When the group was a good distance from the gate, Akiraka shot a look at Naruto and said, "Are you serious? I'm surprised that you didn't start kissing that man's feet with how heavily you were laying that shit on."

Naruto ignored her and knelt next to the black-haired child in his group. He looked her in the eyes and said, "That was the most adorable thing I have ever seen. Creepy, but adorable."

The girl didn't respond but looked at him with her usual emotionless gaze.

"You can clearly speak," Naruto remarked. "Tell me, what's your name?"

She didn't say anything.

"Come now," he said with a warm smile, "I can't keep calling you child or girl the rest of your life, can I?"

Naruto waited a few seconds and when it became clear she wasn't going to answer he sighed lightly and stood.

"Vi."

Naruto looked down at the child. She had spoken again and this time it was a name. Vi. It was a simple thing but he felt like he was on top of the world with the accomplishment. Knowing another's name made a connection between them, a familiarity, and it was a start.

"Vi," he said as if he was testing the word. He nodded. "Hello, Vi. My name is," he bent down and whispered into her ear so that the three shinobi couldn't hear him, "Naruto. It's nice to meet you."

He patted her on the head, a large smile on his face, and he motioned for the group to continue on.

The design of the city may have modeled after a seal but the strategically placed gates that allowed entrance to the inner most districts meant that the creator of the seal was really, really good to have made an easily defensible city as well as a security system all in one. Naruto knew he would never have been able to copy such a feat. He was good at fuuinjutsu but he was by no means a master. The pervert had died well before he had imparted all the secrets of sealing to the young blonde.

The gate into the second district was a quarter ways around the city in either direction and Naruto found it to be a complete pain in the ass to get around. It was simple but with all the walking that it required made it just bothersome. Granted, he wouldn't have thought that way if he was in charge of the city but he wasn't and so he felt justified in thinking that the design was evil.

When they got to the gate into the second district, Naruto put on his acting skills again, signed an admissions sheet, and left the guards laughing at a particularly funny joke.

It was then that Naruto caught his first glimpse of the cells he would be tackling. They were exactly like what was described to him and that was a very good thing. That meant that his plan to get the prisoners out would undoubtedly work.

"You three are up," Naruto said. "Find the prisoners."

Takeshi took the lead and lead the group around the circular prison in search of the targets of their mission. They are gone around about three-fourths of the wall-prison, when they came upon a raised wooden platform in the middle of the expansive area that separated the prison and the middle wall.

It was the execution platform and Takeshi nodded toward the cells behind the innocently evil structure. "There they are."

"How many of them are there?" Naruto asked.

"I count fourteen," Akiraka said.

"We'll clarify how many there are with them when we get them out," Kagemusha said, "I count four stationary guards and two patrolling."

Naruto frowned. "That seems rather lightly guarded for prisoners-of-war due to be executed tomorrow."

"Arrogance in the ability of their security seal, perhaps?" Takeshi supplied.

"Makes sense," Airaka added. "The resistance has never been able to infiltrate the city even after several repeated attempts."

"Wait," Naruto said. "How did you three know about the city and these cells then?"

Kagemusha answered, "We asked civilians that are loyal to the cause."

That was not something that Naruto wanted to hear. He had thought the information was from their observation, not those of civilians. Everything he thought he knew was now called into question and he wasn't sure if his plan to get the shinobi out would work or not. He didn't make an expression to tip off the three shinobi of his unease at the news. A leader never let it be known that they were worried.

"Alright," Naruto replied.

"Kyubi," Akiraka said, "I'm going to take Vi with me. I have an idea on how to waylay the two patrolling guards. I can give you about a seven minute window at best."

"Keep her safe," Naruto warned. He didn't like the idea of Vi being used in any plan but he knew that Akiraka wouldn't allow the child to fall into any danger. He had seen her sneak concerned glances at the girl during their fast paced journey to Hanma and knew she cared for the child.

"I will," she said seriously.

When she and Vi circled around the district and exited his line of sight, Naruto focused on his pressing concern, how to get the four guards to leave their post without alerting other enemy shinobi.

Takeshi took a step toward the cells and said, "I have an idea. I'm not sure how many of the guards it will draw away or for how long but it's something."

"Mind enlightening us to this idea of your's, Takeshi?" Kagemusha asked.

The man grinned and pulled out a bottle from a pocket. He opened it, took a drink, and splashed a little of the liquid onto him. Immediately the smell of strong alcohol filled the air and Takeshi's henged face took on a red tint.

He staggered toward the wooden platform and almost fell as he attempted to mount the steps. Naruto watched the guards on top of the wall-prison take notice and about laughed when Takeshi barked off an insult to the stairs and walked around the platform.

Once he was near the cells of the shinobi prisoners, he started to rant and yell about how the traitorous bastards would be dead by the end of the next day. Two of the guards came down from their posts via the wall of the prison and attempted to calm Takeshi down. His curses changed to praises when the konoha shinobi neared him and he tried to hug each of them to the Konoha shinobi's obvious discomfort. Then Takeshi managed to snatch the hatai-ate of one of the guards and ran off down the road hollering all they way something about 'being a shinobi of the great and powerful Konoha'.

That action had gotten some attention from the other two guards still up top and they ran parallel with him along the wall and out of sight. The shinobi on the ground tried to grab him several times but every time it seemed that they were close, Takeshi would manage to slip out of their reach.

Naruto whistled and said, "That was one of the ballziest things I have ever seen."

"He can be quite the actor," Kagemusha said as he looked at Naruto.

The two shinobi hurried over to the cells and Naruto didn't hesitate to slap a seal onto the glass. Nothing happened and Naruto breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed the information had been good which brought another concern to his mind. How did these civilians know or find out how the fuuinjutsu that went into the building of these cells?

He ignored his curiosity for the time being and returned his focus to the task at hand. The prisoner inside the cell, a large bald man with metal shackles around his wrists and some unique shackles that bound his fingers, looked at him suspiciously but with some motioning on Naruto's part he managed to get the man to come over to the glass. He pointed to the seal he held against the glass and then placed his hand against the glass as he nodded toward the seal.

The man must have understood what Naruto wanted him to do because he placed his hand on the glass directly across from the seal. Naruto pushed a minute amount of chakra into the seal, not enough to be sensed by the sensory seal but enough to set off the unstable seal of Naruto's creation. A puff of smoke enveloped the area and standing next to Naruto was the man who was in the cell.

Naruto made a shushing motion and looked inside the cell. His seal had worked exactly like he planned because inside the cell was a perfect clone of the once imprisoned shinobi. If all went well, none would know that the prisoners were gone until the execution.

Hurrying to the other cells, Naruto found out that there had been only fourteen shinobi captured and all were accounted for. He kept close to the walls of the prison and the freed shinobi followed suit. He met back up with Kagemusha when he freed all the shinobi on his side

"Question," the blonde man said. "How do we get out unnoticed?"

"Ummm," Naruto hummed.

He had been winging it the moment he saw the cells. He couldn't remove the chakra shackles from the shinobi since the shackles were the only things making these shinobi masked from the sensory seal of the city. He couldn't use chakra without doing the same. Seals would do him precious little. He didn't have the time or access to the chakra to create a seal that would help him with this situation. All things considered, he had jack-diddly.

"Kyubi," Kagemusha pressed. "I have nothing at my disposal that can help us out of this. Do you have a plan or have we done all this just so that the mourners would have a great story?"

"The mourners," Naruto muttered. Mourners, a religious group that worshiped death. They didn't believe in bringing death like disciples of Jashin but in the transition from life to death. They were called mourners because they could often be found at funerals wearing billowing black robes. They never said a word and it was considered a great offense to remove a mourners robe or to try to peer into the shadows it created. There were rumors that to do either of these two offenses brought and early death to the offender. Naruto had met a few of them in his life as they flocked to battlefields like locusts. He had watched as they gave final respects to the dead and dieing and he appreciated them for that.

"That's it," he said slowly. He reached into his pocket, which was henged over his kunai pouch, and shuffled through the seals he had. He had been a friend of the Mourners in his world and because of that he was given Mourner robes when he met a large group of them as a symbol of continued friendship. Something about protecting a group of them from a few angry shinobi or something like that.

In his line of work he ran into the Mourners a lot and because of that he had a large supply of their robes. Enough for his idea to work.

He brought out the seal he was looking for, secretly dropping another one as he did, and unsealed a black robe from it. "Put this on," he told the shinobi. He handed one to each of the freed men and women. "Mourners do not speak, they do not look people in the eyes, and, this is the important bit, people do not stop them from coming and going. Make your way through the West exit and then the South. We will leave through the East exit and meet you at the South."

"Wouldn't the guards be suspicious if a large group of black-robed individuals left this district if they never entered?" Kagemusha asked.

"Mourners are a secretive group," answered one of the freed shinobi. "It isn't strange for a large group to just appear. They would just assume that the group was made up of some of the people who entered the district earlier."

Kagemusha and Naruto stared at the female shinobi. "How did you know that?" Naruto asked.

"My Mom was a Mourner until she had me," she explained. "She told me a few things. Not much, but some of the general stuff."

"Alright, you're in charge," Naruto said. "We'll meet at the South gate. Go."

Kagemusha and Naruto didn't stay to watch the fake-Mourners leave as they had to gather their group and get out as well. They walked calmly, like a Father and son on a nightly stroll, but their eyes were constantly moving, hoping to find their comrades.

"There," Kagemusha said. He pointed down the road, slightly past the gate.

Akiraka waved pleasantly and Vi stood by her side. Two Konoha shinobi were talking with her and when she waved they turned to look.

"These fine shinobi helped me find Vi-chan, Otou-san," Akiraka said.

The woman's plan snapped into place in an instant in the two male's heads and Naruto rushed over like a worried Father. After much thanking and praising of the shinobi, Naruto managed to get his group passed the gate with no problems and when the southern gate came into view so did Takeshi.

The man had a shamed face on with several Konoha shinobi around him.

Naruto approached the group and asked, "Now what's this? Boy, are you giving these fine shinobi some trouble?"

The guard of the South gate that he had dealt with earlier smiled and blurted out a quick laugh. "It seems that your boy can't hold his sake. He took one of our shinobi's hitai-ate and gave them a merry chase. Hell, if they boy was younger I would have suggested sending him to an Academy."

Naruto bowed. "You honor me, Guard-san." He turned to his 'son' and his face changed to one of disgust and anger. "How dare you," he said. "Giving these shinobi trouble. Apologize, boy!"

Takeshi attempted a bow but ended up on the ground, much to the humor of the shinobi.

Guard-san waved in a happy manner and said, "We'll leave his punishment up to you, sir. Having one of your children go missing and the other go on a drunken adventure is more than enough worry for one parent, I suspect."

"Oh, thank you, Guard-san," Naruto said, relieved. "As for you," he turned to Takeshi, "we'll figure out your punishment when we get home."

At that moment a group of Mourners, the freed shinobi, came into view. They moved slowly in calculated, deliberate steps. They didn't look at any of the people around the gate but simply walked through and out of Hanma.

"Creepy lot," Guard-san muttered. "At least none will bother you if you follow in their wake."

"Hai," Naruto said slowly. "Thank you, Guard-san."

"No problem," he replied. He lot out a large yawn and mumbled, "You've made this night more interesting than this boring shift usually is."

Naruto and his group followed the Mourners out and over took them on the stone paved road that led away from Hanma. They continued along the road for about an hour before they broke off. They removed the shackles from the rescued shinobi, Naruto got his robes back, and silent cheers filled the group.

Naruto released his henge and broke the seal on his neck. His appearance gathered the attention of all those present. He was an unknown who had helped them and none knew how to interact with him. Be wary or embrace him with joy for saving their lives. Tough choice and one Naruto could understand.

The big man Naruto saved first stepped up. They stared at each other and after some time he reached out a massive hand. Naruto took it and the tension in the area vanished.

Takeshi talked quietly with some of the shinobi with a smile on his face and even Kagemusha had a slight smile on his lips.

Akiraka approached Naruto, Vi at her side, and Naruto crouched to give the girl a quick hug which she returned lightly. Standing, Naruto scanned the group and said, "That went better than expected."

Akiraka smiled, her eyes sparkled with untold joy.

"Kyubi," Takeshi said as he walked over. "If there is anything I can do to repay you for this, please, name it."

"There is one thing," Naruto replied. "Take me to the leader of the Resistance."

* * *

Please review, fav, follow. Submit an OC if you like.

Not sure when the next update will be due to some things coming up. But will try for within this week.

Until next time...  
-Unbiased Abyss


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

Enjoy...

* * *

Atsushi Honda looked smug as he surveyed the crowd. Naruto's clone, who was release from a crumpled seal after a set period of time, took in as much detail as he could of the man. Short black hair donned his head and crept down in thick sideburns. His two amber-eyes were set over a hawkish-nose that ended in a sharp tip and his mouth was morphed into a please smile. A strong chin combined with his muscular physique and six-foot three height made him an imposing looking man. Over all, the man was devilishly handsome and knew it.

Naruto's clone, a young man named Ashitaka, with dirty blonde hair and a badly healed scar over his lips and several pock marks from a youth filled with acne, watched the man a little longer before he turned his focus onto the wooden execution platform. Fourteen hooded figures of varying height, weight, and gender were lined up and three others, Konoha shinobi, were placed around them.

"People of Hanma," Honda called out, his voice deep and strong. "Today we are to pay witness to the execution of rebellious scum who would threaten our everyday lives for their own selfish gain. Each of them wish to overthrow Konoha control of Iwa but I tell you that to do so would be done only be a fool. With the arrival of Konoha, the number of bandits has plummeted, the number of children forced into the military is almost nonexistent, and the economy of Iwa is stronger than it has ever been. To say the Konoha is an oppressor in this land is to say that you was the bandits back. That you want your children to suffer and die in the shinobi ranks. That you want the very structure of Iwa to crumble to the ground."

He paused for dramatic effect and Ashitaka had to admit that the man really knew how to play a crowd. The people were murmuring quietly to themselves in agreement to what Honda had just said and by allowing them to quietly agree with each other he strengthened the effect of his words.

"Let us not," he started again, "suffer these anarchists to destroy this peace we have obtained. Let us hold onto that peace with clenched fists and string wills! Let us demonstrate to the rest of the traitorous villains that we will not give up our happiness so easily!"

The crowd exploded into cheers and Honda nodded to some shinobi that were positioned behind the wooded stage. The Konoha shinobi hurried onto the stage, brought the captive to their knees, and grabbed the hoods that covered their faces.

"My people, let us look upon these workers of evil and allow them to understand the futility of their work," Honda bellowed.

The Konoha shinobi yanked on the white cloth bags and a collective gasp emerged from the crowd.

In the place of the faces of the captives that were supposed to be executed were black masks with red Kanji for 'nine' on the forehead. The crowd grew louder with screams and demands to know what was happening. All the while, Honda was trying to calm them as he too studied, confused and surprised, the people on the platform.

When the crowd was lowered to a dull roar, Honda called out, "What is this?"

One of the captives stepped forward slowly. When he spoke the voice was dark and rough, exactly like Naruto's. "I am your retribution," he said. "You claim the be for the good of Iwa in one hand and in the other you slaughter villages to get at these rebels. The warm blood of the innocent stains your hands and I have come as a punishment for all your sins."

"Who are you?" Honda asked with a sharp edge in his voice.

"I have been called many things in my life but there is one name that has been used in the defence of the innocent. A name that will stand as a shining hope to not only the people but the shinobi that make up this great nation of Iwa as well." the masked figure responded. "I am Iwa's first shudder as it awakens from its forced slumber. I am...Kyubi."

When the masked man finished he and the rest of the captives disappeared. There was no smoke, no influx of chakra. They just disappeared as if they never existed.

The people broke into a commotion and when some demanded to know what Kyubi meant by 'blood f the innocent' Honda retreated to the shinobi district.

Ashitaka pushed his way out of the crowd and worked his way to an alley. He looked around quickly and pulled a seal from his pocket. It activated with a minute push of chakra and a small rat waited in its place.

"Dispel yourself," Ashitaka commanded in a nasally voice, "and also carry this message to the master. I will stay in Hanma and make weekly reports or report when something major happens. He should appreciate the information. I have already gathered the rough number of shinobi the Occupation Force commands and the number of samurai that can be expected. That is all."

The rat did a very human nod and vanished from sight. Naruto always did hate that puff of smoke that gave away his position whenever he used that jutsu.

**-Naruto: Rise of Iwa-**

Naruto landed on a tree and glanced back toward Hanma. It seemed that his declaration of war went well and soon the name 'Kyubi' would be on every person's lips in both Iwa and Konoha. As a symbol of hope and change for one and one spoke in fear and dread in the other.

He nodded to himself. His clone had the right idea and while it was risky he did need the information. He had to give it to the clone, to develop a seal that siphoned off chakra that was radiated from the massive sensory seal and as such being able to stay around undetected was a stroke of genius. He patted himself in the back for being awesome and turned back to the group.

**-Naruto: Rise of Iwa-**

The rest of the journey went quickly for Naruto. It had taken them two weeks to reach the interior village of Kakogan and they arrived in the dead of night. The village was large but looked so quaint that it gave off the impression that it was small. It was situated in a valley and had many trees and even a few waterfalls incorporated into the aesthetics of the village.

Takeshi turned to him. "I'm afraid you will have to wait here," he said.

"I understand," Naruto replied. "You go to your leaders and set up a meeting. They can bring however many shinobi they wish and pick the place and time of the meeting."

"I will return to this spot with the information," he said.

The group left Naruto and Vi with happy good-byes and heartfelt 'thank-you's. Eventually the blonde with left with his ward, Vi, and Akiraka.

He looked at the woman as he set Vi down. He had never taken the chance to appreciate her looks and this was the first time he really took notice. She was gorgeous, to put it simply. A short-sleeved dark blue kimono top held closed by a grey sash was tight enough to tempt a man but loose enough to allow the imagination to work, brown shorts went pleasingly down to her calves accented only by her dark blue kunai pouch on her left thigh and on her feet were black shinobi sandels. Brown hair in a messy pony-tail and auburn eyes that flicked around observantly fit perfectly with her mature features.

"Thank you," the brunette said. "One of the captured shinobi is a friend of mine and if it wasn't for you...well, you get the picture."

Naruto smiled behind his mask and nodded his head slightly. "Not a problem."

He looked to Vi who was standing patiently at his side and laughed lightly when he saw her sway on her feet slightly. She had been carried the entire journey and was exhausted from the trip.

"If something were to happen to me," he said to Akiraka, "would you take care of Vi?"

"What?" she asked in mild shock.

He reached up to his mask and pulled it off. His hair was dark blonde and his face had been so changed by war, stress, worry, and life in general that he only slightly looked like the Yondaime Hokage. The similarity was enough to suggest that they might have been distantly related but with the Uzumaki features mixed in he was confident that none would question his lineage.

Akiraka stared at his face intently. He wasn't at all taken aback by this since it was the first time she had seen it since they had meet those two and a half weeks ago.

"If I am killed in this coming war," he said and his voice snapped her attention back to the conversation, "will you take care of Vi? I know that is a lot to ask of one so young but I trust you and you have been keeping an eye on Vi since you first saw her so I know you have a soft spot for her."

She looked at him with a mixture of calm and silent understanding. "Hai, I can do that."

He sighed heavily and sat down next to a tree. "That is a relief."

Vi sat down next to him and leaned against him. Not five seconds later her breath softened and she was asleep.

"Do you honestly think the rebellion can win?" Akiraka asked softly.

"That remains to be seen," Naruto replied. Picking up a stone from the ground, he pushed a small amount of chakra into it and started to smooth it out. He had a suspicion of who he might be meeting, judging from his location in Iwa, and the stone was a necessary precaution if he was right.

The brunette sat across from him, a short distance separating them , and questioned, "How did you have enough robes to cloth fourteen people? I don't know anyone who just walks around with that many sets of identical cloths."

The dark-blonde chuckled. "Mourners only give robes to those they consider a friend. Friends were a rarity for me in my home and I treasured the gift each time one was given to me. I have dozens of robes in a seal that I always carry. On a side note: it also makes for really good disguises."

The rustling of leaves alerted the two to someone coming from the village and Naruto pulled his mask on quickly.

The white-haired Takeshi came from around a bend in the road and made his way to them. He changed his cloths and now wore a standard Iwa shinobi uniform with the only change to it being a grey line on the front. As the man grew closer, Naruto noted the grim look on the man's face.

"What's the word?" Naruto asked.

Takeshi sighed loudly and answered, "The leaders will meet with you. I can't tell you how many shinobi they will bring, the leader's names, and I have to blindfold you."

"That's outrageous!" Akiraka snapped. "What reassurance does Kyubi have that he won't be attacked in that time of disadvantage?"

Takeshi looked down. "If Kyubi wishes to join the Resistance he needs to demonstrate that he can be trusted."

"That's bull-"

"Akiraka!" Naruto barked in a commanding tone. She looked at him in mild confusion and he said, "I thank you for your concern but these leaders have every right to be cautious. I could very well be a spy and what we did in Hanma could have been a very well planned rouse to gain your trust."

"I know that but..." She went quiet for a bit and when she finished it was in a whisper, "I don't know why, but I trust you. I don't trust easily, you can ask Takeshi or Kagemusha about that, but I trust you. It confuses me to no end but...you remind me of someone that I love very much and I can't help but feel that if I didn't trust you I would be betraying that person."

"Akiraka," Takeshi said quietly.

Naruto allow silence to cover the group for a time. "That," he finally said, "means a lot to me, Akiraka. Thank you." He turned to Takeshi and asked, "They told you that you had to blindfold me so that I could demonstrate that I could be trusted if I wanted to join the Resistance right?"

The white buzzed man nodded.

Naruto stood, patted off any dirt or grass that might have gotten on him, and picked up Vi. "Then lead the way."

"But the blindfold," Takeshi stammered.

Naruto tilted his head and said plainly, "Who said I was going to join the Resistance? Lead the way."

Confused, Takeshi nodded, turned, nodded again, and walked down the way he came.

Naruto and Akiraka followed behind. They passed through the city and Naruto took in the beauty of the village. Low white-walls separated many houses from the dirt road and gave a sense of calming privacy. The roar of many waterfalls could be heard throughout but was never loud enough to make speaking difficult.

If Naruto had to describe the village in one word it would be: untouched. The high mountains on either side and the many green trees produced a security that made him slightly uncomfortable. Being in a war for the past ten years, he had grown used to the itch of caution that made a home on the back of his mind but in this village that itch almost went away entirely.

After they walked by several more houses and turned down a road, Naruto finally saw their destination. The white-walls that surrounded the complex were much higher than the other two-foot ones and on either side of the dark-oak gate was a golden mountain. This was the home of the Seinaru-Yama clan. They often went by Yama in the general public but when in a political matter they went by their true clan name. To call them anything other would be considered a great insult on their honor and to the Seinaru-Yama honor was everything.

The clan gained their name by the mountain that they built their home next to. Called, Seinaru, the mountain was a sacred place for them and any who trespassed onto it were considered an enemy to the clan. As a coming-of-age task, the children had to travel to the top of the mountain and return with a white stone that could only be found on Seinaru. If they failed they had to wait a year before attempting again. No honor was lost if a child failed and it was often encouraged for the children to turn back if it got too difficult for them.

The clan-head's children had to do something a bit different however. They had to enter the mountain and travel into its depths for a sacred black stone. They could bring nothing other than the cloths on their backs and the rest had to be provided by the mountain.

Naruto smirked. It seemed that they were hoping he wouldn't know anything of the Seinaru-Yama clan and would unintentionally insult them. he would then have to beg them for forgiveness and, most likely, swear allegiance to them for forgiveness. It was clever but, sadly for them, he wasn't going to fall for it.

Takeshi, Akiraka, Vi, and he passed through the gate and were presented with several dozen shinobi. The mountain on their flak jackets identified the majority to be of the Seinaru-Yama clan with only three of them being of a different clan. The other three had closed eyes on their jacket and Naruto immediately mastered his emotions. They were of the Kanjo clan.

The Kanjo clan were a relatively weak clan with never more than a hundred pure blood members but their Kekkei Genkai made them invaluable. They could sense emotions like someone could see colors, smell a flower, or hear a song. They specialized as interrogators in the Iwa shinobi ranks. The three that were in the white stone yard were not pure-bloods however. Pure-bloods of the Kanjo clan were universally blind, had beautiful grey hair, and sharp facial features. None of the three had any of the characteristics but if they were here that meant that there was a pure-blood here as well.

The shinobi in the courtyard looked at him in confusion, most likely because he didn't have a blindfold on and was carrying a sleeping child.

Naruto looked at all of the shinobi in the yard one at a time and noted that none squirmed or changed their blank expressions when his mask turned to them. After he looked at the shinobi he turned his eyes to the building. The walls of the first floor were made of solid iron-colored stone with a dark wood accepting here and there. The second floor had white paper walls and a wide walkway and cover so that one could over paper walls slide open even during a storm. The roof reached into the sky in a steep peak of more iron-colored stone that was shaped into shingles.

The front-doors of the house, which were made of two huge slabs of dark oak and looked like it took considerable strength to move even an inch, opened and three figures walked out of the house.

The first was a bear of a man who dwarfed all in the courtyard. He had wild black hair, a thick beard, and coal black eyes. He had on the standard Iwa uniform with the Seinaru-Yama clan seal set boldly on his flak jacket. Naruto had never met the man in his dimension but he had heard of him. Ryutaro Seinaru-Yama, the Head of the clan, was considered a good man with a fierce loyalty to his clan and Iwa. He could be brash but his heart was in the right place.

The second was the polar opposite of Ryutaro. He was slim, the same height as Naruto, sharp features, long grey-hair, and his eyes were covered by a black ribbon. He had on a white kimono and walked with a dignified grace. This was the man that Naruto had to be the most cautious with; a Kanjo pure-blood. Naruto had never met a Kanjo before so all he had to go on was stories and here-say. There was one piece of advice given to him that he did trust; when talking with a Kanjo, speak with emotions, not words.

The third was a girl. She was slightly taller than Vi and had all the features of a Kanjo pure-blood. Dealing with sensing the emotions of others all their lives caused those of the Kanjo clan to mature quickly and Naruto could understand. It would be torture to always know when someone was lying to you, being fake with you, or scared of you as many often were.

Ryutaro had a face of shock when he say that Naruto wasn't blindfolded and had a child in his arms but Naruto focused on the Kanjo's reaction. The Kanjo clan developed a type of echolocation with their chakra to make up for their loss of sight and could often 'see' better than someone with actual sight. The Kanjo was well aware that Vi was there but didn't react at all, that was to be expected.

The Seinaru-Yama clan head stepped forward and looked at Naruto with a serious gaze. He was, no doubt, waiting for him to insult the Seinaru-Yama but Naruto was going to have none of it.

Handing Vi to Akiraka gently, Naruto reached into his kunai pouch and pulled out the round stone he had picked up in the forest. The smooth stone was black with rivers of white meandering along its surface. There was nothing special about the stone but what it symbolized was the union of the sacred stones of the Seinaru-Yama clan. Any visitor to the clan had to gift them this type of stone to demonstrate that they held a respect for Seinaru.

Ryutaro's eyes widened and he hurried over to collect the gift. "May Seinaru shelter you in her shadow," he said strongly, his deep voice rumbling the stone Naruto stood on.

"And may my enemies face her unforgiving wrath," Naruto finished the blessing getting even wider eyes from Ryutaro and nods of respect from the Yama shinobi.

The mountain of a man stepped back and the Kanjo stepped forward. He walked with purpose to Naruto and when he was near him he reached his hand out.

A handshake was a simple thing but for a Kanjo it was much deeper. Being able to sense emotions, they could learn much about the person by the rather simple act. Was the person nervous, fearful, confident, prideful, and many other things. Also, their Kekkei Genkai allowed them to sense emotions without touch but when they did touch someone their bloodline kicked into overdrive where even the slightest shift in emotion could be detected.

Naruto didn't hesitate and took the man's hand. He shook it softly and then crouched to the same level as the girl. He reached out, she placed her hand on his, and he gently brought it to the place on his mask where is mouth was.

Standing again, Naruto waited for the Kanjo to step back a step and Ryutaro to come closer.

The large man introduced himself, "I am Ryutaro Seinaru-Yama, Clan-head of the Seinaru-Yama clan."

"And I am Yasahiro Kanjo, Clan-head of the Kanjo clan," the grey-haired man said. "This is my daughter, Keiko Kanjo. I hope you don't mind her being here as she is learning how to use her Kekkei Genkai in political situations."

"I am honored," Naruto responded. He spiked an emotion of both happiness and concern and said to Keiko, "If at any point in time you find my emotion too strong, please tell me and I will do my best to tone them down."

Keiko hesitated, probably unused to strangers being concerned for her, and nodded a moment later.

Yasahiro, smiled slightly and thanked Naruto for his thoughtfulness.

"To business," Ryutaro said. "We've gotten word of your display in Hanma. Not the freeing of our shinobi but your stunt after words."

"I found that it got my point across," Naruto replied.

"You identified yourself as an enemy of Konoha," Yasahiro commented. "Rather publicly, I might add."

"And why shouldn't I?" he questioned. "I am new to Iwa, but in my first days here I found a village slaughtered by Konoha shinobi. The young child in my friend's arms is the only to survive and would have been killed too if I had not interfered. All I did was announce which side I was on in the coming war."

Ryutaro growled, "Shit, with that stunt even the Hokage will know your name and I doubt you wish to pit yourself against him."

"On the contrary," Naruto countered, "I am eager to fight the Yondaime Hokage, if it comes to that at least."

The large man laughed humorless. "I am strong but even I wouldn't stand a chance against that man. What makes you think you would last more than a few seconds against him?"

"You're not me," was the blonde's answer.

Yasahiro cut off any retort the bear might have shot back and commented, "You were to be blindfolded yet I only sense your mask on your face."

"Your orders didn't apply to me."

"How so?" the blind man asked.

"Takeshi-san's orders were for me to wear a blindfold to demonstrate my ability to be trusted by the Resistance. That doesn't apply to me because I have no intention of joining," Naruto explained.

"Then why, in the fissures of Teinaru, are we having this meeting?" Ryutaro barked angrily.

"I wish to gain you alliance in my war against Konoha," he stated.

The Kanjo's brow scrunched slightly in confusion so fast that Naruto thought he imagined it. "We are already at war," he said.

"No, you've already been defeated," Naruto replied.

"What was that!?" Ryutaro shouted.

Yasahiro placed a calming hand on the large man's chest and visibly focused on Naruto. "Explain."

"It's all in your name, I'm afraid," Naruto said. This was where he was taking a risk. If these two didn't see things his way then any hope of him getting shinobi behind him was almost out the window. He could do it but it would take far longer than he wished.

He continued, "You have called yourselves the 'Resistance' and this indicates that Iwa has been defeated. Are you not shinobi of Iwa?"

"Of course we are," Ryutaro muttered.

"Then why do you not march under the name 'Iwa'?" he asked. "A name is a powerful thing and to ask shinobi of Iwa to fight under the name of 'Resistance' is a grave insult."

"It is only a temporary thing," Yasahiro said. "We will return to the name 'Iwa' after this is over."

"Then I shall temporarily call the big guy here 'Fluffy'," Naruto responded.

"Excuse me!?" Ryutaro roared.

Naruto tilted his head to the side. "Settle down, Fluffy. It is only temporary."

The two clan-head dropped into an understanding silence. A name was such a simply thing but the power it held was, now, unmistakable. Yasahiro broke the silence and said softly, "So, you not only got you name spread across all of Iwa but identified yourself as fighting for Iwa, not the Resistance."

"Exactly."

"Suppose we join you," Ryutaro growled, "how do that change the situation we are in. As you said, you are new to Iwa so you must be alone. We number at roughly two hundred shinobi. Konoha can't afford to send any more shinobi to the Occupational Forces due to tension with Kumo and Kiri, so that leaves about one-fifth of Konoha's shinobi for us to deal with. Two hundred against ten thousand. How does one man change these odds?"

"You forget the samurai that are stationed here. Fifty-thousand from what I understand," Naruto said. "You have no samurai so we are vastly out numbered on that front as well."

"So, how does one man change this?" the large man questioned in a stern tone.

The Kanjo clan-head gasped softly. "Ryutaro-san. This man is far more dangerous that we first thought."

"How so?"

"By having his name and alliance to Iwa spread to any that will hear it, he has created a gathering point for any who would fight. We have so few numbers because we have hidden both of our clan's involvement with the Resistance in fear of retaliation but with a public display of defiance this man has done a greater blow than any thing we could have hopped."

Naruto nodded slowly. "The shinobi will gather to fight for Iwa, the samurai will take up arms, and war will march on those who would say they have beaten Iwa. I have the name that will fan the fires of war to life but I have none to command. Will you join me and fight for Iwa once more or continue hiding your names in fear?"

The silence the fell over the courtyard was heavy but Naruto stood with a calm and confident demeanor, as if he didn't care how they answered but he knew that Yasahiro Kanjo was seeing a different story. He was seeing a confidence built on hard work, a hope born of purpose, and a perseverance that none could match.

"I'll fight for Iwa," Akiraka called out from behind him. It seemed that during the meeting Vi had awoken and now stood at the young woman's side.

"As will I," Takeshi said with a spark of hope in his eyes.

Some of the Yama spoke their alliance soon after and one of the Kanjo shinobi. More continued adding their voices and the courtyard was quickly taken over by everyone speaking at once. Through it all, Naruto never turned from the clan heads.

"The choice," he said loud enough for them to hear, "is yours. Add your voices to the chorus of hope or join the silence of the defeated."

**-Naruto: Rise of Iwa-**

Konoha, the village hidden in the leafs, was a beautiful city that sprawled out across the land like a resting giant. Night had descended on the village and the many lights that held the darkness at bay were like so many stars. In the northern section of the village was the Hokage Monument with four large faces depicting the three past Kage and the current.

Minato Namikaze moved his eyes across his village slowly, committing every detail to memory. He loved his village and was willing to fight and die for it, he loved his people and would defend them to the bitter end, and he cared for the shinobi he commanded.

"Hokage-sama," his secretary's voice called from a seal on his desk, "Naruto-sama and several others have returned. You wished to be informed immediately when they returned."

His hands tightened into fists. Naruto, his son, had left the village a little over a month ago and went to Iwa. The boy had stolen a mission scroll that brought him and his little entourage to Grass and what he did there remained to be seen. The Council was in a near uproar and he was not happy with his son. Not. One. Bit.

"He mastered himself and said, "Send them in."

The door opened soon after and in walked Chiba, Sakura, Shikamara, an unmasked Hinata, and finally Naruto who had the forethought to look a little sheepish. The door closed and the five lined up in front of his desk. The room went quiet and Minato let it stat that way for five minutes.

"Hinata," he said in his 'Hokage' voice, a far more serious and commanding tone than he liked using, "why are you unmasked? Wait, don't answer that. I'm sure it will be answered later. Shikamaru, from the beginning and if you use the word 'troublesome' even once I'll have you train with Gai-san for a week."

"Hai," the lazy boy said and Minato was slightly irritated that his expression didn't change from it's typical demeanor. "About five weeks ago, Naruto-san came to Chiba and I to enlist our aid in a mission. He said that you had given it to him and that he got to choose his team. It sounded odd to me at the time so I decided to join to make sure nothing really hit the fan. It was troubl- annoying but I couldn't let my friends go off and possible get hurt. Naruto-san then asked Sakura-san to be the squad's medic.

"The the squad created we informed out parents and set out to Grass. The mission was rather simple, dealing with escorting a Grass Noble who wanted to look far more important than he was, and we finished it easily. It was then that Naruto-san expressed an interest in going to Iwa. I was against in because the risk of someone recognizing Naruto-san was very high but he said we would just stay away from any people we might run into.

"We passed over the boarder with ease as it seemed the the shinobi that should have been patroling the area were doing something else. It wasn't until we saw smoke in the sky to the north-west that I had a guess as to what that was. We went to the smoke and found a village. It was destroyed and its people were killed, their bodies littering the streets."

"What?" Minato asked in shock.

"At the time, we didn't know who did it but I had my thoughts. We searched for survivors and found only more bodies. Women, children, the elderly, none had been spared. It was during our search that we heard a fight and a scream. Naruto rushed and the rest of us had little time to catch up before he attacked someone."

Shikamaru paused to see if Minato wanted to ask something but the Hokage motioned for him to continue.

"We took up defensive positions and Naruto took the mask off of the ANBU who had been attacked, revealing Hinata's identity in the process. The man who attacked her stood a short distance away." He described the man's clothing and the quick conversation they had before he disappeared. "After that we rushed back to Konoha and here we are now."

"Kyubi," Minato muttered. "Hinata-san, tell me about this, Kyubi."

She told him about his quick dispatching of her squad and her embarrassingly easy defeat. She also told him of the child that her teammate had moved to kill which started the fiasco.

"So," Minato said slowly, "he only attacked when the girl was threatened."

His anger at his son had lessened somewhat with the knowledge of the encounter of this Kyubi and the discovery of the slaughtered village. From what Hinata said the two ANBU with her were only chunin like herself with one of them being an Uchiha and her squad had been ordered by Atsushi Honda, the man the Council had placed in charge of the Occupational Force that were stationed in Iwa, to kill any survivors in the village. It disturbed him that the young Hyuga was willing to do it but then, shinobi were always told to listen to the orders of superiors. Hell, the girl was only there because Honda had requested a Hyuga for an important mission dealing with the Resistance that had sprung up in Iwa.

The story he had been told created many questions and concerns for the young Hokage. Why would Honda have a village slaughter? Just what was going on in Iwa? Who was Kyubi and what were his intentions? These questions and more filled his mind.

"Your dismissed," he said and the young shinobi left his office. As Naruto stepped to the door, Minato barked, "You're not out of the fire yet, Naruto. Go home, your Kaa-san would like to have a word with you."

"Hai," the boy stammered and closed the door as he left.

Minato placed his hand on a seal on his desk and said, "Aina-san, could you please send word for Jiraiya to come to my office. The matter is of great importance. Also, could you please have one of the Genin watching the hawks come to my office as well. Thank you."

He snatched a piece of paper and a pencil from his desk and wrote on it a command to Atsushi Honda to report to a meeting place half way between Hanma and Konoha in twenty days. He wished he could have the meeting sooner but he had a Council meeting coming up, three meetings with individual clans, and some there was some political tension from Iwa for sending a large number of shinobi through their lands on their way to Iwa. He couldn't help it, however, since Ame made it perfectly clear that they didn't want any foreign shinobi crossing their boarders. Twenty day, that was the closest he could have it.

He cursed mentally at all the different things that Honda could be doing. Damn it, there was another situation that needed handling as well. Ino Yamanaka had been sent to Hanma at Honda's request for a Yamanaka interrogator. He couldn't outright command him to send her back specifically because that might type him off that he, Minato, suspected something. One didn't specifically indicate a clan-heir's return for no reason and it would rise Honda's suspicion. For the time being, she would have to finish whatever Honda needed of her and, hopefully, return before something terrible happens.

Minato turned back to look out the window. His mind was whirling with questions, theories, and horrifying conclusions about the new information brought to him. None of this had been reported to him in Honda's monthly reports and the shinobi who bring the reports have said nothing as well. A knot formed in his gut and no matter how hard he tried to relax it away the uncomfortable feeling if brought wouldn't go away.

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-Unbiased Abyss


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

There is something I would like to ask from you, my readers. I would really like a cover picture for this story but, alas, I suck at drawing, painting, computer art, and anything else that deals with that three letter word. So, if any of you find yourselves wanting to make one, I would be honored to put it up as this story's cover picture. Any others that are made will be credited in my profile and mentioned at the end of the chapter nearest to the submition. I only ask that the title of the story be in the picture somewhere. I would prefer it if you had a deviantart account that I could link to otherwise it will be a hassle to get, display, and credit.

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Enjoy...

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Naruto scanned a report quickly before casting it into a small bowl of embers on his polished stone desk. It smoldered for a second before some flames rose from the coals and started to dine on their new meal. It seemed that his display at the execution had been far more influencing than he had guessed it would. The report had detailed the number of recruits that had been picked up in twelve different villages and he couldn't be happier.

A week had gone by since his meeting with the Yama and Kanjo clan-heads. Each had joined him and had dedicated the whole of their clans to the war effort. The Kanjo would be invaluable in interrogation but their pure-blood members were worthless in a fight. It was well known that Kanjo pure-bloods had little in the way of fighting ability and relied on their other clansmen to protect them. It was a similar relationship between the Hyuga and their branch family with the exception of one being better than the other. The protectors of the pure-bloods were viewed with respect and were often given equal positions of power as a pure-blood.

The Yama clan brought a large number of strong shinobi into the war effort. Known for powerful Doton jutsu, the Yama would be a great boon to Naruto and his plans.

Over the course of the week, Naruto had sent out shinobi to dozens of villages, big and small, to gather shinobi and samurai for the war. The reports that were being sent back were promising. He had stayed in the far interior of Iwa, where Konoha's influence and watchful eyes were weakest, and had found a treasure trove of people willing to fight. Training programs had already been set up for the inexperienced and Naruto himself had led a few classes for the advanced shinobi.

He picked up another report that detailed resources coming in and being used. He burned this and several other reports that he looked over quickly.

'Things seem to be looking up, Kit,' Kurama's voice reverberated in his mind.

Naruto smirked. 'I have about seven-hundred shinobi and three-hundred samurai. I am low on supplies of all kinds and see little coming that might relieve that.'

The eternal beast chuckled darkly. 'You are correct but, is this not where you thrive? Outmatched in all regards but still fighting for your beliefs. You humans amaze even me sometimes.'

There was a knock on the door.

"Enter," Naruto commanded. He had been given a room in the second basement under the Yama compound. He had quickly converted it into an office and now toiled out orders from it.

The door opened and Takeshi walked in. He closed the door and sat when Naruto offered him a chair.

"What did you need, Takeshi?" Naruto asked.

"I just wanted to thank you," the man said. "Before you came and took over, we weren't doing very well. We had little shinobi and little hope of defeating Konoha but in the course of a week that has all changed. I see people smiling, people talking about victory, but most importantly, I see hope. For once in this struggle I feel that we might be able to win."

Naruto nodded slowly. He took of his mask and set it down on his desk. Takeshi gasped and Naruto smirked. "You've never seen me with my mask off, have you?"

He shook his head.

"I am only a man, Takeshi. You paint me a hero-"

"That's because you are," the white-haired man stammered. "I'm grateful for what Ryutaro-sama and Yasahiro-sama have done for us, for Iwa, but just in the week that you have taken command you have done more than they had in months."

"They were worried about their family and clan," Naruto said. "You cannot fault them for that."

"And I don't, but it doesn't change the fact that you are exactly what we needed. What Iwa needed."

Naruto sighed. "I am only one man, Takeshi. You heap this praise on me without even thinking of the others who helped make this happen."

He saw a confused look cross the man's face. "Think about it. If I had not met you, Akiraka, and Kagemusha at that village then none of this would have ever happened. Contrary to what you might think, I wouldn't have been able to break out those captured shinobi alone and I wouldn't have met up with the Resistance. To be honest, I had been thinking about going to Konoha to raise holy hell before you showed up. None of this would have happened without the intervention and help from you and our friends."

Takeshi took what Naruto said in. He seemed to collapse in on himself and sagged heavily in his chair. "Even when I try to compliment you I do it wrong."

"Hmm?"

"I wish...I wish I could be more like you, Kyubi. Brave, confident, smart, humble, caring...you're everything I want to be but can't," he muttered sadly.

"We are who we wish to be," Naruto replied sternly. "The cards life deals us does help shape us but we ultimately get to choose how we handle what we're given. You say I am all these things that you wish to be, well then, become better than me. Choose your path and walk it."

A booming knock at the door stopped Takeshi from saying anything.

"Enter," Naruto called as he pulled his mask on. He noticed Takeshi starting to leave and said, "No, stay. You say you wish to be like me but that is impossible, we are our own persons. Learn from me instead. Stand behind me."

Takeshi hurried around the stone desk and as he did several dozen men entered the room.

"Thank Kami this is a big room or we might have been a little cramped," Naruto joked and several of the men laughed. "I asked for each of you specifically for a very important reason."

One of the men took a half step forward and blurted, "The others say that your making us farmers. That we're too worthless to do anything of importance."

Naruto frowned. "Well, then they are fools. I am giving you all the most important task I will ever give as the leader of this band of Iwa shinobi."

"Farming. Important?" another man questioned.

"The most important, in fact. Many seem to think that the ability to fight is the end all be all in this world but I disagree. You see, what I am giving all of you is the most powerful position in this army."

"What do you mean?" the first man asked.

"You will be aiding dozens of farming villages with your Doton jutsu by plowing the fields, bringing nutrients to the surface, and digging trenches for irrigation. You all will be in control of this armies food supply. Without you, we die. End of story."

None of the men spoke.

"We can fight all we wish but if there is no food to eat we will die. You think your job is pointless? You think it is lesser to mine? I disagree, your job is the most important one in the entire army, even more than mine." Naruto paused and looked at each of the men in his office. "Now, will you take this mission with your heads held high or do I have to find some other shinobi who understand the importance of what I'm asking them to do."

A chorus of, "No, Kyubi-sama," echoed in the room and Naruto became slightly worried that the rock above their heads might crumble down on top of them.

"Very good," he said and tossed a scroll to the first man to speak. "Your name?"

"Ichiro Seinaru-Yama, Kyubi-sama," the man said quickly.

"You will be leading this mission. The scroll details where you need to have shinobi sent. There is more villages than shinobi so plan for them to spend time in multiple villages. Listen to the local's advice. They have been farming for years and have the experience that you need. Any question?" No answer. "Then you're dismissed."

The room emptied and Naruto was left alone with Takeshi who walked back around the desk but didn't sit down.

"You convinced them that they had an important job so that they would feel better about themselves," he said as he looked at the door.

"I wasn't kidding, Takeshi," Naruto stated. "That mission I just gave them will be among the most important I ever give in this war. It will also be among the ones that are forgotten."

Another knock at the door.

The blonde shinobi shook his head, it seemed that he was always busy. He called for the person to enter and was given a report before the shinobi departed. He thumbed through it, his eyes moving fast over the pages, and a plan began to form in his head.

The report was a conglomeration of many different observations about the numbers and whereabouts of Konoha shinobi. To fight a war, one needed to know where the enemy was. Unsurprisingly, the highest concentration was in the main villages that dotted the main trade road of Iwa. That road paralleled the southern and easter border of Iwa and was about three days travel from the border itself.

Naruto called upon his knowledge of the terrain along the road. The southern part was mountainous while the eastern part was rather flat and forested if he remembered correctly. He asked Takeshi who confirmed his thoughts.

'It just might work," he thought as he pondered his plan. It would be risky and if they lost then it would be an embarrassing end to a short war.

"Takeshi, could you please tell Kagemusha that I would like to have a word with him?" Naruto asked.

The man, seemingly lost in thought, mumbled, "Hai," in reply and left.

Ten minutes went by before Naruto heard a knock on his door. It was sharp and quick.

"I'm getting tired of saying this," Naruto muttered. "Enter."

Kagemusha walked in. He had on a black long-sleeved shirt under a dark grey vest, dark blue pants, and black shinobi tabi. His kunai pouch was secured to the small of his back and the hilt of a wakizashi poked over his right shoulder. His straight blonde-hair went down to his shoulders with a single stand going between his grey eyes.

"Ah, good," Naruto said quietly. Naruto moved to offer the man a seat but remembered at the last second that the man preferred to stand. "Rumor tells that you were once an ANBU of Konoha, Kagemusha."

"I know my way around a kunai, Kyubi-san," the man said in his firm, quiet voice.

"I have a plan to attack the Occupation Force and hurt them badly in the process. If our rescuing of the prisoners was a bloodying of the nose then this will be the equivalent of collapsing a lung and breaking both legs. It's risky and I need someone who I can trust for a part of the attack."

"And this plan is?"

Naruto shook his head. "Not now. I'll explain it to everyone who has to know after this and I don't care to explain it more than once."

"If you didn't ask me here to explain this plan to me then what did you need?"

"This mission will put you up against Konoha shinobi and there will be prisoners. I want to know if you will have an issue with taking them prisoner when they surrender and I also want to know what would drive an ANBU to go rogue."

"There won't be an issue with my taking them prisoner. I may not like Konoha but I am not without my honor."

Naruto waited for the man to answer the second part of his curiosity but the man simply stared at him. He frowned and asked, "And what made you leave Konoha?"

"I'm not sure what my reasons for leaving have to do with the mission, Kyubi-san," Kagemusha said and finished with a stern tone.

Naruto tilted his head and said, "Call me curious."

The two stared at each other without a word being said. Seven minutes passed until Kagemusha grunted and said, "I'll be leaving then."

Just as the ex-ANBU grabbed the doorknob, Naruto said seriously, "I didn't say you could leave, shinobi."

Kagemusha's eyes snapped toward him and Naruto continued, "I want to know the reason you left because I want to know if it was a good one. A justified one. It will tell me a lot about you and it will also show me if I can or cannot trust you. Now, tell me why you left."

Kagemusha sighed heavily and sat down in the chair in front of the desk. His eyes held a look of deep sadness. "I was married, you know."

Naruto stayed silent and allow the man to think.

"Both me and my wife were ANBU. We went on a lot of missions together,fell in love, and eventually decided to settle down to start a family. One day, Haruka, my wife, came home from a two week mission. She was a wreck. Right when she saw me she just broke down crying. It startled me as I had never seen her cry before. She was such a strong woman.

"I asked her what was wrong and she told me about the things she had seen in Iwa which was where the mission had been to. She had been sent to a labor camp to look over an execution and find any benefactors in the Konoha shinobi they might have had. She was horrified at what the Konoha shinobi were doing to the prisoners. The men were worked day and night and the women...All she would say was that she could still hear their screams."

Kagemusha stopped. He took several deep breath and started again. "She begged me to leave Konoha with her. She couldn't, wouldn't, serve a nation that could do those atrocities. So, we packed a few things and left. We struck a line in our hitai-ate as Haruka wouldn't have it any other way. It is only now that I wished I had pushed her to wait. We were planning on going to Iwa and help build a rebellion but when we got three leagues out of Konoha we were stopped by several ANBU and Kushina Uzumaki-Namikaze."

Naruto tented his hand on his desk and leaned forward. Kagemusha looked at him and Naruto nodded for him to continue.

"They saw our lined hitai-ate and immediately attacked. I held my own as best as any shinobi could in the situation, I was actually winning against the three ANBU that fought me but everything seemed to stop when a scream broke through the air. I turned to see Haruka, my wife, pierced by a kunai in her gut. She vomited blood and slumped." His voice got rough and he stuttered slightly. "The person who held the kunai that killed my wife was Kushina Uzumaki-Namikaze. I'll tell you now, Kyubi-san, if we ever come into a situation that Kushina is present, I will kill her regardless of what you order."

Naruto nodded slowly. Kagemusha was a haunted man and Naruto felt deeply for him but that didn't mean he was not above telling the man what he thought. "You hate Kushina?" he asked.

"With a passion that none can match," the man said darkly.

"She was doing her duty as a Konoha shinobi, killing a nuke-nin. You would hate her for her doing her duty? You would hate her for something you most likely had done several times as an ANBU?"

Kagemusha opened his mouth but closed it without saying anything.

Naruto pressed forward, "I'm not telling you to not hate Kushina and if we meet her in the battlefield then I will position you to fight her but if we meet on peaceful terms then I will ask you to refrain from attacking her or I will have to kill you myself because I will not allow one man's desire for revenge destroy Iwa's chance at becoming independent again."

Naruto leaned back in his chair and looked up to the ceiling. "Personally, I don't think your wife would want you spending even a second of your life hunting Kushina down like an animal for petty revenge. Doing something like that can change someone, trust me I've seen it. One of my friend's family was slaughtered when he was young and he grew up with revenge on his mind. He ended up betraying everyone that knew him and practically sold his soul for power."

Naruto looked at Kagemusha, "I ripped one of his arms off and cut off his head. Don't make me do that again."

The man looked down at the floor with a troubled expression. "I'll think about what you've said."

"That's all I ask," Naruto replied. "Now, could you please gather Ryutaro, Yasahiro, Akiraka, and Takeshi so I can explain my plan."

Kagemusha rose from his chair and went to the door.

Before he left Naruto asked, "After this battle, would you mind telling me about Haruka?"

The haunted man closed his eyes and nodded slowly. "I would like that," he said. He turned his head to Naruto and whispered, "I think she would have liked you, Kyubi-san."

Naruto watched the door close and then rose from his desk. His office was big, there was no denying that. It had a big desk, several bookshelves, two chairs, and a huge table in the middle of it. That table was something special. He walked over to it, his eyes taking in all the complicated seals that he had several of his clones carve into it with wind chakara, and placed his hand on it. He couldn't admit to creating the masterpiece himself as it was his late sensei who had consceived the original design.

He focused some chakra into the large seal and particles of light slowly rose from the surface of the table. More and more rose, drifting on unseen currents of air, and stopped at the same height roughly a foot off the table. Soon there was a sheet of light spread out above the table and at a push of his will he forced the light to bend and warp.

'Kurama,' Naruto thought, 'if you don't mind, could you add in the small details?'

The giant chakra creature didn't respond but the light suddenly started to move without Naruto's doing. The light changed colors as it flew around and soon Naruto was looking at a perfect map of Iwa. The light rose and fell with the mountains and flowed in the hundreds of rivers that slowly carved Iwa to fine sand.

Naruto waved his hand and the floating map of Iwa zoomed in on the south half of the nation. The main trade road appeared as a golden yellow ribbon snaking along and passing into the mountains that dominated the south of Iwa. Three red dots came to life at Naruto's bidding: one where the trade road first passed into the mountains at the east, another on the far west just passed where the road curved down into Ishi, and the final in the middle of the other two dots on the trade road.

He didn't move when his office door opened and the people he asked for filed in. He waited for them to gather around the table with him, looks of wonder and interest on most of their faces.

"Interesting," Yasahiro muttered. "I can sense this...map of yours, Kyubi-san."

"It was created by my old sensei," Naruto said. "I have only done a few minor adjustments."

He stood up straight and addressed the group. "I gathered you all here to discuss Iwa's first major retaliation against the Occupation Force. If you would look at the map, I will explain what I have in mind.

"There are three targets: Keiro Pass that acts as the main trade entrance into the west of Iwa, the Occupation Force city of Nomi, and the prison labor camp of Kaisai." The red dots glowed a bit brighter when they were mentioned and a name was scrolled under each them. "Taking even one of these out would hurt the Occupation Force severely."

Ryutaro growled and said, "We should take out the labor camp first and then, with the freed workers, attack Nomi and Keiro Pass."

"If we do that then either the city or the pass will be heavily garrisoned by the time we get to them," Takeshi commented. "We should take out the pass to block any reinforcements from coming."

"Then you have to deal with the Konoha shinobi threatening to kill the prisoners," Kagemusha muttered. "The labor camp is the best option."

Yasahiro, his face emotionless, shook his head. "Nomi will have many shinobi in it and if we attack either the camp or the pass we will lose our element of surprise. If we want to claim victory we should attack the city."

Akiraka glanced at Naruto but didn't say anything.

The masked blonde cleared his throat and when everyone's attention was on him he said, "Everyone has some valid points. If we don't take out the camp we risk the lives of the prisoners there, if we don't attack the city we lose our surprise, and if we don't attack the pass we allow for reinforcements to come more readily. Each of these are completely unacceptable and that is why we will be attacking each of them at the same time."

He paused and took a slight satisfaction at the looks that the people in the room gave him.

"Did I just hear you right?" Ryutaro rumbled. "All three? By Seinaru, we don't have enough shinobi for that."

"Nonsense," Naruto said matter-of-factly. He flicked a finger and numbers started to appear on the map. "We have seven hundred shinobi at our disposal for this mission. We can't make use the samurai due to the distance that must be traveled in a short period of time. I plan on leaving one hundred shinobi here so we actually only have six hundred."

He pointed to Keiro Pass and the map zoomed in. The pass was cut out of the mountain and had steep cliffs on each side of the road. A wooden gate blocked it and battlements were made on the road and in the cliffs around it.

"Ryutaro," Naruto said in a serious tone, "I want you and fifty of your best clansmen to assault Keiro Pass."

The big man hummed softly to himself. "How many enemy shinobi are we looking at?"

"Reports say about five hundred," Naruto replied offhandedly.

Ryutaro sputtered and roared, "Five hundred?! What can fifty do against five hundred."

"They can drop a Kami damned mountain on the enemies head," Naruto said coldly. "Twenty-five on each side will be more than enough to drop a large about of stone and earth on the Konoha shinobi's heads. The ones in the open will be killed, heavily injured, or so shell shocked that they will be in no condition to fight. The ones in the cliffs will be trapped and with your clansmen there, surrounded by all that earth, you should have no problems dealing with the little amount of resistance that might be mustered."

The black-haired man scratched his beard and studied the map. A minute passed and he said, "Could work."

"It will," Naruto remarked.

He waved his hand and Kaisai came into focus. Cliffs surrounded three sides and small buildings dotted the flat middle.

"This is Kaisai. There seem to be about twenty thousand samurai prisoners working the mines there. The prisoners are in poor health, malnourished, and only need an opportunity to rebel against their captors."

Kagemusha leaned forward and asked, "Why don't they? Rebel, I mean."

Naruto frowned and zoomed in further. A small raised platform appeared and four cages hung from tall poles. "If they try anything," he whispered, "then the women and children in these cages would be killed."

Kagemusha's hand gripped the side of the table and Naruto could see the man's knuckles go white. "Those bastards," he barked.

"Before you cast judgment of all of the Konoha shinobi there, Kagemusha, you should know that there appears to be a number of them that don't like the idea of holding those people prisoner like that," Naruto said. "The report that came in from this area said that there were several Konoha shinobi that would sneak food to these people even when the ranking shinobi ordered no food to be given to them. I believe that if you liberate these people from their cages, you will find the samurai more than willing to fight and some Konoha shinobi turning themselves over to you."

"To me," the blonde muttered. His head snapped up and he gave Naruto a strange look. "You want me to lead this attack?"

"With your ANBU training and experience you are the best and obvious choice," Naruto replied.

"So, earlier was..."

"To see if I could trust you with this mission. I had heard that you had a...dislike for Konoha shinobi and I had to know if I could trust you with them as prisoners. Clearly, I do. There are only three hundred enemy shinobi there and I am allowing you to take one hundred with you. Make use of the samurai; they are many things but cowardice isn't one of them."

Kagemusha nodded. "I will not fail."

"Good." He swung his hand once more and a half circle of a city appeared. The flat edge faced a large forest with the trees close to the city cleared.

"Nomi, the Occupation Force's western capital," Naruto explained. "The other two attacks will happen during the night but this one will take place in the day. There are fifteen hundred shinobi stationed in the city and ten thousand samurai. The city is massive to say the least, about half the size of Hanma. I will lead the attack with four hundred and fifty shinobi at my back."

"You will be outnumbered three to one," Yasahiro observed. "And that isn't even counting the samurai."

"We will make use surprise and a shinobi's best friend, subterfuge," Naruto said. "Akiraka," she looked at him, "I want you to take twenty shinobi and enter the city the previous day. Your goal will be to set time delay explosive notes in strategic positions around the town and enough on the southern wall to blow a hole in it. I'll leave it up to you where you should plant the rest of them. Each note I give you will be five times more powerful than a normal note so do be careful with them. When the battle begins, I want you and those with you to hide until such a time that you can join the fight. You will be surrounded by enemy shinobi and samurai so if the opportunity doesn't come then then stay hidden."

Naruto touched the table and the city was instantly populated with red and green people. The detail of the people was astounding and each were unique in their looks and cloths. It amazed him every time he saw it and could swear that they were actually just little people than chakra infused light.

The forest to the south was soon filled with a hundred blue people and several blue people appeared in the city. One of the people in the forest stepped near the tree line and when Naruto looked closely he saw that it was a mini-him, just completely blue.

"Wow," Takeshi blurted.

"Indeed," Naruto said back and he knew that he didn't successfully hide the smirk in his voice. He cleared his throat and continued, "The charges placed around the city will go off and cue one hundred shinobi and myself to make our move. We will present ourselves to the city and draw all the attention toward us." As he spoke silent explosions destroyed a few buildings in the city and the blue people stepped into the open area in front of the wall.

"You said a hundred, right?" Akiraka asked.

"Yes," he answered.

The brunette pointed to the group of blue people and said, "Then why are there three hundred there?"

"Look at them closely."

She did and her eyes widened slightly. "Most of them look just like you."

"I will create two hundred clones to do battle and make our army seem larger," he answered her confusion.

Ryutaro chuckled. "Two hundred? That's quite a boast."

Naruto ignored the man and went on explaining his plan. "When we have gathered an adequate amount of attention, we will charge. When we reach the halfway point the charges set on the wall will go off and open a hole for use while decreasing the number of enemies that we have to deal with. We will do battle and begin to lose horribly. When everything seems lost to us, Takeshi will attack from the north with the remaining shinobi under his command."

"You can't risk those many lives," Takeshi barked angrily. "These shinobi trust you. You can't ask them to go through with this plan."

Naruto turned his masked face to the man and said, "I can and will, Takeshi. Remember that two-thirds of our force in the south will be my clones and each of them will be under strict orders to protect the other shinobi if and when it comes to it. I can't fight a war without putting people in danger."

Takeshi was breathing heavily, his eyes filled with fright and Naruto immediately knew what made the young man snap out like that.

"Takeshi," Naruto said, his voice like steel. "I know that you, of all people, can lead those shinobi when the time comes. It's scary, terrifying even to know that all of those lives are in your hands but I know that you can do it."

"How?" the man all but whimpered.

"Because I trust you, Takeshi. You have a love for your people that few can match and that will burn inside you into a raging inferno when the time comes." Naruto looked at the map and watched as his mini and his army charged the city. "Look," he said.

Takeshi did and watched as Naruto's army was slaughtered. There was little the small blue army could do against the massive wave of red that engulfed them but still they fought on. When all seemed lost, blue shinobi appeared in the north and tore into the red shinobi with a passion. The red army broke into confusion and, after what seemed like an eternity of fighting, the red army surrendered.

Naruto broke the silence that had enveloped the room and said, "This victory hinges on you. I want you to lead this part of the attack because you are the only one in the room that will know when the time is right. Can I count on you to save not only my life but those of the shinobi with me, Takeshi?"

The white-haired man took a deep breath and stood up straighter. "Hai, Kyubi-san," he said with power behind his words. "I won't let you down."

Naruto looked into the man's eyes and nodded. "I'll hold you to that. Any questions?" None answered. "Alright. We leave early tomorrow and each of us will be at our separate battles in eight days. Yasahiro, I would like three of your kin to accompany each of the armies for the interrogation of prisoners." The man nodded. "Also, no harm is to come to the prisoners. If I find out that any Konoha shinobi were hurt after they surrendered there will be severe consequences, this includes harming them for interrogation purposes, hence the Kanjo shinobi. Am I understood?"

They nodded and he dismissed them.

**-Naruto: Rise of Iwa-**

Naruto squinted as the sunlight pierced his eyes. He glanced back at the main house of the Yama clan. He hadn't left the building in three days as he was too busy handing out missions, reading reports, and planning the future of Iwa.

It looked like he had entered some kind of middle yard as it was surrounded by several Yama compound buildings. The grass yard was a large square with a stone walkway around it. Boulders dominated the corner to his left but other then them only grass covered the yard.

He found a dark wood bench that wasn't occupied and sat. There were kids playing in the yard and he took a small joy in watching them play. Children were so innocent to the workings of the world. For them, it was a day to play, but for the adults it was a day to prepare for war. He wondered how many of these kids would lose a parent or both in the coming battle. He could already imagine their laughing faces change into one of choked sobs. It was easy for him, he had seen in hundreds of times before and would see it hundreds of times more.

He shook his head to rid himself of the terrible thoughts and watched the kids once again. He noticed two young girls standing off by themselves and wasn't surprised to see that they were Vi and Keiko. The two got along beautifully, much to the surprise to Yasahiro who had never seen his daughter play with anyone. The two seemed to be talking and Vi had a small smile on her face. Thank Kami she could still smile after what she had been through.

The two noticed him and waved. He returned the gesture.

The Kanjo clan had give Vi new cloths and she looked like a new person with the white battle kimono on. It was fitting that it was a battle kimono as someone or some people had started to teach the girl how to access her chakra. He could name four individuals that might have done it but Vi had never revealed who her sensei were or was.

If he was being honest, the idea of her learning to use chakra disturbed him slightly. She had told him that she wished to become a shinobi and that learning to control her chakra was the first step. The idea of the little girl he had saved from the destroyed village killing people caused his throat to burn with rising bile and his heart to ache. Maybe the feelings he had was expected of a parent or sibling, she had never told him how she thought of him but with the way she acted he was guessing the latter, and if it was he couldn't comprehend a parent forcing their child into this kind of life.

There was a benefit of her learning chakra and it was in the form of an idea that he came up with but it would have to wait for the end of the war.

He watched the kids for some time and when the sun started to creep behind a mountain he rose. He went to the room that was provided to him by the Yama clan and forced himself to sleep. The true beginning of the war was upon him and he would not fail.

Not this time.

* * *

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As always, I am accepting OCs. So, if you wish to create one see my profile for more details.

For anyone that might be a bit touchy on the number of shinobi and samurai that are mentioned, please remember that in this story the Nations are much bigger than most other stories. This is evident by how long it takes to travel places.

Until next time...  
-Unbiased Abyss


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

* * *

A morning mist covered the Yama compound and Naruto checked over his supplies once more. The shinobi that would be joining him in the battle were spread out in the Yama compound middleyard and many looked around with quick glances. They were scared but not one of them had refused to go. These men and women were bravely facing their fear and Naruto respected them greatly for it.

Where they felt fear, Naruto felt a strange comfort in the knowledge that a large battle was coming. He had spent the last ten years in near constant combat so this was familiar ground for him. The world may have changed but battle was still battle and that was one thing he was good at.

"Kyubi-san."

Naruto looked up from his kunai pouch and saw Takeshi walking toward him. The man looked better than he had the previous day and walked with a new resolve.

Naruto nodded to indicate that he had heard.

"There are two people here to see you."

Naruto raised an unseen eyebrow and asked, "Who might these two people be?"

"They are representative of the Fae clan, Kyubi-san," Takeshi answered.

"The Fae clan?" The blonde questioned. He hadn't ever heard of them in his world which meant that either they were destroyed as a result of the bijuu's interference or they were highly secretive and never felt like interacting with the war-torn nations.

Takeshi's face scrunched up in confusion and he asked tentatively, "You don't know who the Fae are?"

"I am only a man," Naruto commented and started to chuckle. "Allow me to learn new things once in a while, my friend."

The man smiled. "The Fae are a large and powerful clan," he explained. "They don't really have a Kekkei Genkai to speak of but they are always born as twins: either fraternal or identical. One of the twins is considered 'good' and the other 'evil' but a better way of putting it is that they counter each other. If one of the twins has a high chakra capacity then they other would likely have outstanding chakra control. If one is strong and slow the other is quickly and nimble."

"So they complement the other's weakness," Naruto provided. "That is a powerful Kekkei Genkai. I assume this complimenting quality extends into their personalities as well?"

"Hai. If one is nice, the other is mean." Takeshi nodded toward the Yama main house and said, "They wait for you in the front courtyard."

Naruto rose to his feet and commanded, "Have the shinobi ready to move by the time I'm done."

Takeshi bowed slightly. "Hai."

Walking quickly, Naruto entered the Yama main house, passed by a few rooms and people, and exited into the front courtyard. It was easy to spot the Fae shinobi as they were the only ones in the area and Naruto could honestly say that he had seen nothing like them before in his life.

There were two of them, a man and a woman, and they took a few steppes toward him with such a grace that Naruto thought he was looking at moving art instead of living beings. The man had shaggy light blue-hair, black almond-shaped eyes, and was handsome beyond belief. The woman had long flowing hair of the same color and her black eyes matched perfectly with the man. Her beauty was breath-taking but with the way she looked at Naruto she reminded him of a large cat, beautiful to look at but dangerous to come near, and the katana strapped to her back spoke volumes of her fighting preference.

Both of them were wearing black shinobi sandals, black shinobi pants, a white long-sleeved undershirt that hugged tightly to their skin, and a very slim light blue flack jacket. Over all, they looked the very essence of grace and beauty but there was a dangerous edge to them that had his instincts screaming to be careful.

"Representative of the Fae clan, I presume," he said to the living pieces of perfection and offered his hand.

The man smiled, making his handsome face even more so, and took the offered hand. The man may have looked somewhat thin but his grip was solid. "A pleasure to finally meet you, Kyubi-sama," the man said in a buttery tenor.

Naruto waved his hand and said, "I'm afraid that I'm not a fan of formalities. Please, call me Kyubi or, if you insist, Kyubi-san."

The man tilted his head slightly and said, "Fine by me, Kyubi." He placed a hand in his chest and said, "My name is Yoi Fae and this," he presented the woman, "is my beloved sister, Yami Fae." The woman was a the same hight as her brother, just a hair under six foot, and when he caught her eyes he saw suspicion, hate, and displeasure rolling around in them. Her brother was the nice one it seemed.

Naruto offered his hand to the woman and wasn't surprised when all she did was stare at him, completely disregarding the hand.

Yoi winced and said, "I hope you don't take offense but Yami doesn't like to shake hands and doesn't really like strangers."

Naruto chuckled and said, "All is well. If I offended you in any way, Fae-san, I apologize."

"You apologize even after you have been slighted," Yoi asked with a hint of confusion.

"Pride is the least of my worries at the moment," Naruto answered, "and if an apology can smooth things over between me and Fae-san then it is no skin off my nose. Now, you are representing your clan?"

"Ah, yes," the man said smoothly. "The Fae clan has...taken an interest in the potential outcome of this war you're stirring up. We are here to observe you for a time and report back our thoughts. The elders will meet and discuss our tellings. If they like what they hear the Fae clan will support you in your war."

"And if they don't like what they hear?"

"Have no fear, Kyubi-san," Yoi said. "The Fae will not take Konoha's side in this war. If they don't like what they hear the Fae will stay out of the war completely."

He nodded slowly. "I wish you had arrived at a better time, Yoi-san, Fae-san, but my shinobi and I are just about to head to a battle that we may not come back from. I couldn't ask you or allow you to endanger yourselves if all you wish to do is observe."

"Nonsense, Kyubi-san," Yoi said with a confident smirk. "The Fae view battle as the only way to see a person's true colors. No, this was the best time for us to arrive. We will accompany you and fight beside you. That is how we will observe the real you."

"The more the merrier, I guess," Naruto muttered. "I cannot spare any shinobi to look after you during the battle so you will be on your own."

"We would have it no other way."

"Alright then," Naruto turned slowly and waved for the two Fae to follow him. "We leave immediately."

He led them into the house and as he walked past one of the stairways that led to the second floor he saw a raven haired little girl waiting for him. Vi had on a white sleeping gown and stood on the last step before the first floor.

She stared at him and he her. Slowly she took a step off the step and walked carefully over to him. She moved slowly and her eyes shot around in nervous glances. When she reached him, he crouched and she threw her arms around him. She buried her head in his chest and let out a soft sob.

"Please, come back," she choked out, her voice strained with emotion.

"Oh Vi," Naruto said quietly. He wrapped his arms around her and hugged her tightly. "My dear little one." He held her, unconcerned with the Fae behind him.

"Please," she pleaded.

"I promise, Vi," Naruto whispered. "No matter what happens, I will always come back to you. That's a promise of a life time and what does a shinobi stand by?"

"Their promises," she said and wiped her eyes with one hand, the other held his leather vest tightly.

"Oh my," said a voice and Naruto looked up the stairs to see Misaki, Yasahiro's wife, coming down the stairs.

She was short, petite, and had the traditional black leather cord tied around her eyes marking her as a pure-blood. She looked between Vi and Naruto, a concerned and loving expression on her face.

"Little one," Naruto said softly, "did you want to wave good-bye to me and the brave shinobi joining me?"

She nodded into his chest and backed away only slightly. He rose, took her hand, and walked out of the Yama main house.

Lined up in the middleyard were three hundred and fifty shinobi, each of them had a hitai-ate somewhere on their body that marked them as Iwa shinobi. Takeshi broke from the group and handed Naruto a metal protector. Naruto looked at it and saw that the metal was black and the symbol for Iwa was etched in pure silver. He held it carefully and looked at Takeshi.

"We know," the man said, "you don't like resources being wasted on such things but you are our leader and many of the men and women wanted to make that for you. You've given us hope when we had none and, live or die in this coming battle, we are proud to stand beside a man like you."

Naruto looked back down at the beautiful hitai-ate, took the strong crimson leather that it was attached to and tied it firmly around his left arm. He wrapped the extra leather around his arm a few times and tied it off again so that there was no loose hanging cord that could get in his way.

He bowed low to the gathered shinobi and they returned it. "Move out," he barked and immediately the middle yard was cleared of shinobi.

He took a few steppes and turned to look back at Vi. The small girl waved slightly at him and he returned the gesture. He shunshined out of the courtyard with Takeshi and the Fae siblings behind him. He reached the front of the large group of shinobi and set his eyes ahead of him.

**-Naruto: Rise of Iwa-**

Naruto watched the village of Nomi with a relaxed composure. His arms were folded over his chest and, while he looked unimpressed with the massive city, he was slightly concerned that the tags he gave Akiraka wouldn't be strong enough to get through the wall. He could only hope and trust the woman to have taken their thickness into consideration when she planted the tags.

He stretched his neck. The tension that his shinobi held flowed off of them in waves crashing against his steadfast resolve. It was a tension he was used to. Fear and courage battled it out in those he commanded and there was little he could do to set them at ease.

"So," Yoi said from behind him, "your plan is to attack and when their moral is at its highest have Takeshi and the bulk of the army attack from their unprotected flank causing confusion and and their moral to plummet. The moral will drop even more so due to the sudden increase that had just occurred."

"You don't have to fight if all you wish to do is observe," Naruto offered.

A predatory grin appeared on the man's face and he said, "I wouldn't miss a battle this big for the world."

Naruto turned away from the city and looked out over the shinobi that gathered behind him. Fear tainted their eyes and he wouldn't have been surprised if a few ran off as fast as their feet could take them.

'Several will flee if you do not talk to them,' Kurama growled.

'You mean a speech?' Naruto asked.

A huff of confirmation flowed through his mind and he frowned. He wasn't one for speeches and had never actually given one himself. What would he say? He could tell them that they would be alright but that would be an obvious lie.

'Tell them the truth, Kit,' the giant chakra creature rumbled.

He waved for the shinobi to gather near him. They looked so small compared to the fortress that they would be charging and it was almost laughable that a force this small was going to attack.

"I'm not going to lie to you," he said in a strong voice. "Some on you will not live to see the end of this day if you follow me into this battle." Several of the shinobi shuffled around uncomfortably and Naruto went silent.

He growled and said, "Look at that village. The Konoha shinobi there think that they have beaten us but how wrong they are because when I look on your faces I see the burning will of Iwa raging in each one of you. This isn't a battle of numbers but a battle of will and when I look at all of you I know that we have them out matched. Our blood will stain the battlefield but you can be damn sure that the blood of Konoha will flow thicker than ours. I wouldn't trade a single one of you for a thousand Konoha shinobi and with a hundred of you at my back, well, I'm starting to feel a little sorry for the Konoha shinobi."

A chuckle rose up in the group and a new fire started to burn in the eyes of the Iwa shinobi.

Naruto pressed on, "Konoha has attacked our people, claimed our land, and made the mistake of saying that they have conquered us. Iwa, herself, cries out for retribution and we will answer that call. Some might say that we got the short end of this deal but I say that we are right where we are supposed to be. We are the Norowareta and Konoha will learn to fear our wrath. When the next generation speak of this day they will say that it was the beginning of Iwa's retribution. They will tell of the shinobi that stood against the oppression of their people and they will speak of the brave Norowareta whose battle cry will echo through all of time."

He looked around the group and said, "Are you the shinobi who will be the first to strike back against Konoha?"

"Hai," the shinobi said at once.

"Will you join me in this fool's charge for the simple fact that all else are too cowardly to do so?"

"Hai," they cried louder.

"Will you mark the beginning of the Norowareta and the return of Iwa's independence?"

"Hai!" they bellowed and Naruto turned back to the large village.

He folded his arms across his chest and pulsed his chakra. In an instant, two hundred shadow clones appeared. There was no smoke or noise to signal their coming, they were just there. Normal shadow clones spread his chakra out evenly but he had mastered the jutsu to an extent that none could hope to match. He gave the clones enough chakra to survive the length of the battle and perform a single jutsu that he had in mind.

He could have created more of the clones but if he did then this battle would not be remembered as Iwa's victory, but his. Two hundred may have been pushing it but it was the least amount that he needed for his plan to work. He pulsed his chakra again and this time five clones appeared in front of him. These ones had far more chakra and would be pivotal for the group of shinobi to reach the village alive.

He watched the clones organize themselves. Each of them knew the plan and were willing to do anything to protect the shinobi they were assigned to. It wouldn't save all of the Iwa shinobi but he hoped that it would at least lessen the potential casualties.

He walked to the edge of the trees. The trees stopped a half league from the village and it would be an easy charge until they came into range of the samurai's bows and shinobi's kunai.

He took a final look at his group, their faces showing a new courage that hadn't been there before, and stepped out of the forest. He walked slowly and deliberately toward the village and his keen eyes could make out small people running along the walls of the village. Several were pointing his way and as he continued forward he could see more and more figures appear.

He stopped and he heard his clones and the Norowareta do the same behind him. He waited and soon one of the shinobi in his army stepped up next to him.

The man scrutinized the village. He took a deep breath and bellowed a war cry that shook the earth and carried over the land. The Norowareta joined with their own battle cries and Naruto raised one of his hands into a seal. He sucked in air and joined the Norowareta in declaring their challenge to the world. His cry sounded like a bestial roar that should never have been able to come out of a human's mouth. His clones did the same and their combined roars echoed across the land.

"For Iwa!" Naruto roared and sprinted forward, followed closely by his army as they too took up his cry.

Naruto charged toward the city screaming like a madman all they way and didn't slow when he saw the samurai knock their bows. They loosed and the arrows arced beautifully into the air.

Naruto and his five special clones rush ahead of the group, raised their arms, and called out, "Futon: Daitoppa!"

Wind rushed up toward the arrows and blew them away from his coming shinobi. He and his clones repeated the tactic twice more before several explosions could be heard inside the village. Smoke rose from behind the wall and soon after that the wall that he had been charging exploded into a cloud of dust, flying rubble, and tumbling bodies of Konoha shinobi and samurai.

Letting out another bestial roar, Naruto leapt into the dust could and entered the city. As he passed through the cloud, his eyes widened at the sight of several hundred samurai with spears raised toward him. Flashing through hand signs, Naruto twisted as best he could and managed to maneuver past several of the spears, getting nicked slightly in the leg, and landed in the midst of the samurai.

"Raiton: Sākuru o Kakudai!" he shouted and lightning shout out in a circle around him. The lightning circle flew out in all directions and dozens of the samurai dropped immediately to the ground. Pumping more chakra into the jutsu the lightning continued out until all of the tightly grouped soldiers were dead or paralyzed from the electric field.

Naruto dived to the side as several kunai flew at him and he looked up to see three Konoha shinobi rushing him. He dispatched them with relative ease and took stock of the situation. His shinobi were entering the city through the destroyed wall and many of the Konoha shinobi were either killed or disoriented from the blast. This would force the Konoha forces stationed on the other side of the city to come as reinforcements, thus weakening the side that Takeshi and his force would be attacking.

Spying some enemy shinobi jumping down from the wall to his right, he rushed toward them and unleash another battle cry. A kunai flew over his right shoulder and an explosive tag ripped apart the ground near him but nothing could slow his charge and he rushed head long into the group of enemy shinobi.

Pulling out his ninjato, Naruto focused wind chakra into the blade, took one of the enemy shinobi by surprise, and cut through both their raised kunai and chest cavity, almost cutting the man in half. He spun and ended another before they had a chance to react.

More explosions tore at the wall and Naruto was caught in the blast. It seemed that Akiraka had placed explosive at two different points along the wall and that the ones placed at this location didn't trigger at the same time as the others. Naruto made a note about having a word with the jackass who made the tags, himself, and pushed some rubble off of him as he rose to his feet.

He used simple wind manipulation to clear the smoke and saw arms, legs, and blood of many shinobi and samurai mixed with the stones. He turned his attention to his person and found that he had several major cuts on his abdomen and right thigh but none were so sever that he had to treat them immediately. As part of their arrangement, Kurama would work to keep him alive.

He focused on the rest of the smoke and it soon blow away. The explosion must have gather the attention of both forces as when Naruto could finally see he was met with several thousand faces with the symbol of Konoha etched onto their hitai-ate or armor. He glanced back to see many of his group coming over the rubble and did the only thing that came to mind. He charged.

**-Naruto: Rise of Iwa-**

Takeshi watched the city of Nomi with a steady gaze. He had seen Kyubi and his force charge and had been taken aback by the power of the explosive that blew a large chunk out of the wall. He used one of his clan's jutsu and manipulated a section of air in front of him to act like a telescope.

He saw Kyubi rush into the city, kill several hundred enemy samurai with a single powerful jutsu, and move on like it was something he had done everyday. He witnessed his masked friend get caught in an explosion and let out a breath when dust cleared. Everyone else that had been in the explosion had died but Kyubi stood in the center of it like he hadn't even been phased.

The Iwa forces and Kyubi's clones rushed over and around the rubble toward a massive group of enemy shinobi and samurai. They entered into combat and never noticed the other enemy force moving in behind them. His hand tightened into a fist and his knuckles popped as he watched his fellow shinobi being taken down by the sheer number of enemies. He saw one man stabbed by no less than five Konoha shinobi and another engulfed by a stream of fire.

His anger grew to even higher levels with the knowledge that this was all part of the plan. All his people's suffering was planned and even after spending the entire eight-day journey to the battle he still wasn't able to completely control his anger.

He searched out Kyubi and found the man stabbing a kunai through the eye of an enemy and casting an explosive tag with the other hand. Every move the man-made brought death and destruction to the Konoha forces. A flick of the wrist sent out a single kunai that seemed to split in the air into dozens of the deadly knives and a simple step would cause spikes of rock to erupt from the ground. But, for all his fighting he was not without his share of injuries. Blood soaked the front of the man's leather vest and Takeshi could see several kunai and arrows sticking out from Kyubi's flesh.

"Takeshi," said a man behind him. "We wait for your order."

The buzzed white-haired man looked back and saw that, even though they could see what he saw, none of the shinobi with him were scared of the future battle. They, in fact, looked furious and now that he had his attention off the battle Takeshi notice the force of restrained blood lust in the air.

He looked back to the battle and saw that it had changed dramatically in the short seconds that he had looked away. A number of Iwa shinobi had been isolated and killed and, to his horror, Kyubi had been separated from the group as well. Jutsus flew around him as he twisted, parried, and attacked in a destructive dance. Movement to the left of Kyubi caught his attention and when he looked he saw Akiraka join the battle. She cast senbon into the literal crowd of enemy soldiers and leapt onto one unlucky fellow, driving a kunai into the man's forehead.

She must have been in the fight for some time because she was bleeding form several wounds and staggered as she stood from a roll in an attempt to dodge a samurai's katana. It had only been half effective and she now sported a long gash on her leg.

Takeshi closed his eyes. Kyubi had said he would know when to attack but he just didn't. What if he attacked too early? What if he led his force into a trap?

He opened his eyes in time to see Akiraka stumble and fall near Kyubi who moved to cover the girl but it was easy to tell that it was doomed to fail as the number of enemies entering the battle only increased as time went on. An explosion engulfed the two in fire and smoke, clouding his sight and his heart skipped a beat.

Akiraka.

Rage like none he had ever felt before welled up inside him and his hands moved in deliberate seals that his father had forbidden him from using. He was terrified of his father but the thought of losing his friends filled him with such dread that his mind over road his judgment.

"Kinjutsu: Genso no Ikari," he whispered and lighting sparked from his body as his skin took on a light blue hue. He casted his hand forward and ordered, "Attack!"

**-Naruto: Rise of Iwa-**

Naruto coughed loudly and held his side. The explosion had broken several ribs and it felt like one had punctured his one of his lungs. He looked around for Akiraka and, instead, found a Konoha shinobi coming at him. Low on chakra due to using too much elemental manipulation to block the strongest of jutsu from reaching the bulk of the Iwa forces, Naruto grunted and pulled a kunai from his pouch.

He and the shinobi met and sparks cascaded down from their blades. The man must have been a Jonin because he was pushing Naruto's speed to the extreme and even got a scratch or two in, Naruto wasn't sure as his head was still fuzzy from being exploded. Ducking, Naruto dodged an overconfident attack on the Jonin's part and corrected him harshly with a kunai to the gut. The man's entrails spilled onto the ground and Naruto ended his pain by stabbing him the back of the head.

Cries of warning rose up and when Naruto got clear fo the dust cloud he saw that Takeshi's force had clashed into the unsuspecting rear of the enemy force. He shook his head in an attempt to clear it and looked for Akiraka again. He found the young woman in a desperate struggle for her life. She held the hand of a Konoha shinobi who had a kunai dangerously close to the her face. To stop the potential disaster, he threw a kunai and caught the man in the neck. His blood squirted out as he fell to the ground.

The brunette sent him a thankful smile that turned to horror when a massive wave of earth rise over her. She moved as fast as she could but Naruto knew that it wasn't fast enough. He tapped into the last of his reserved and started toward her but realized with mounting terror that it wouldn't be enough to reach her in time. The earth fell over her.

A thunder-clap caused Naruto to go deaf and he fell back into a defensive position in preparation of an attack but was, instead, presented with Takeshi, lightning sparking off of him into the ground, holding Akiraka in his arms. The man glanced at an incoming horde of samurai and with a simple gesture an arc of lighting shot out from his body to incinerated the lot of them.

A cry rose from the back of the battle. It was soft at first but it grew louder with each passing second. "Iwa. Iwa. Iwa," was what was being shouted and Naruto looked back to see that some of the Konoha forces had thrown down their weapons. More and more copied their allies and Naruto didn't understand until he looked behind Takeshi to see that there was a visible line of dead Konoha samurai and shinobi that lead to where he was. Where the enemy had been thickest in the back were large craters, most likely caused by hundreds of explosive tags.

"Their surrendering?" Takeshi asked.

"Hai," Naruto said as he looked around the decimated section of city. "We've won."

**-Naruto: Rise of Iwa-**

Naruto looked over the city from a section of the destroyed wall. Of his Norowareta, he had lost sixty-two and the other thirty-eight suffered from a variety of injuries ranging from mild to life-threatening. Of Takeshi's force, only thirty-seven were killed and a few dozen casualties. The battle had gone better than he had expected it too, having not known of Takehsi's amazing jutsu.

With the surprise of the explosives in the city and on the wall, the ability of his forces to abuse large area jutsu, and Takeshi's attack on their unsuspecting rear, the Konoha losses had been sever. Four thousand of their samurai and five hundred shinobi had been the rough totals and the Konoha forces were, understandable, demoralized. None put up a fight when they were disarmed and confined to their barracks. He had several dozen guards watching them and food sent in at regular intervals. One of the Kanjo was stationed in the shinobi barracks to detect if a prisoner started to churn up an exorbitant amount of chakra but for the moment nothing had happened.

The battle may have been a victory for Iwa but Naruto had been left with a bad taste in his mouth. The attack had not been his preferred plan but it was the best one he had available to him. He could have performed guerrilla attacks on supply lines and slowly chipped away at the Konoha numbers but an itch in the back of his mind told him that it was impossible to wait. From what he had heard about Minato Namikaze, his father, the man would never have sanctioned the things that Honda had done and the item that he held in his hand, taken from a Konoha shinobi no less, told him that this war had gotten a lot more complicated.

A hawk arrived from Kaisai hours after the battle and the message said that Kagemusha had taken the camp. Forty of the Konoha shinobi had surrendered immediately and the others had put up a small fight. It also reported that Kagemusha had sent out wagons of ore to Ishi to the south to trade for provisions that would be needed for the war. He hadn't been ordered to do so but it was a sound plan and would help diminish future issues. A large majority of the samurai that were freed had been sent to Keiro Pass and would be passing through Nomi in about five days time. He knew that they were weak from malnourishment and he appreciated they commitment to join the cause so readily. They would be outfitted and then sent to man the Pass in case of any retaliation that the Occupation Force threw at them.

The Pass had been taken with little fighting, to which Ryutaro wrote, 'Was a pathetic display of shinobi courage.' With the sudden loss of a third of their forces due to a massive land slide, Naruto could hardly blame them. Hell, with a man as large as Ryutaro looming over head, even Naruto would have been a little discouraged.

"Kyubi-sama," a messenger called as she scaled the rubble of the once solid wall.

Naruto recognized her as one of the Norowareta and waved her toward him. "Report," he said.

"Sir," she said. "The Konoha forces are quiet and the medic-nin have finished with the most sever of injuries. A stock of supplies has been finished and the quartermaster has concluded that there is enough food stock in the city for about two weeks. He suspects that Nomi traded heavily with the bordering countries with the ore that was obtained from the labor camp to the west which was how it stayed so well supplied."

"I take it that there is a supply of ore in the village?"

"Hai."

"Have the quartermast put together a squad and continue the trade with these border countries. We aren't hurting for supplies at the moment but it is best to be prepared. We are not taking Iwa back to isolate it and this trade will be beneficial for the economy of Iwa when the war is over," he ordered. "Also, have food supplies sent out toward Kaisai. Many of the samurai that were imprisoned there are heading this way and will be grateful for the provisions."

"Hai," the messenger said. "There is also a report on the conditions of Takeshi-taichou and Akiraka-taichou."

He nodded for he to continue.

"Akiraka-taichou suffered from sever chakra exhaustion, several broken bones, and lacerations of which a few needed immediate care. She will be under supervision for a few days and off active duty for two weeks but will recover to full health," she reported. She paused before continuing and Naruto caught it. "Takeshi-taichou is in critical condition and is touch and go at the moment, sir. The jutsu he used put too much strain on his chakra coils and caused three of them to burst damaging internal organs and muscle tissue. The medics are more concerned about keeping him alive than getting him out on the battle field again."

Naruto didn't say anything. He looked back at the city and then out to the forest that he and his brave Norowareta had made their charge. The plan had been solid on paper and in theory but the emotional toll it took on him and his shinobi was something that could only be partially predicted.

"If you don't mind," he said slowly. "Could I have your name?"

"Yoko Chujitsuna, Kyubi-sama," she said back in what Naruto had begun to think of as her 'reporting' voice.

"Tell me, Yoko-san," he stopped and looked at her. "Do you mind if I call you Yoko-san?" he asked.

She hesitated, but eventually said, "No, Kyubi-sama."

"Well then, Yoko-san, please call me, Kyubi or Kyubi-san. I don't have a fondness for formalities and prefer it if people speak their minds when I talk with them."

She nodded.

He looked back to the forest and asked, "Tell me, Yoko-san. Was it worth it?"

"I don't understand, Kyubi-san."

"Allow me to clarify. Was this victory worth the cost? You were with me in that charge and you fought beside me in that battle. Was it worth it?"

She turned her gaze to the same forest he was looking at and stayed quiet for some time. When she spoke, her voice was quiet. "You told us," she all but whispered, "that some of us would die, Kyubi-san, if we followed you. Yet, we did. You may not see it but, you are a symbol of hope to us. We may not know who you really are and you could even be a Konoha spy acting in some elaborate plan to catch all would be threats to Konoha but false hope is better than no hope at all. We followed you, despite your warning, because we knew that you would be with us every step of the way and, even though we might not have made it through the day, we would rather have been no other place but your side. We delivered the first blow against Konoha and not a single one of we Norowareta, we Cursed, regret it."

She looked at him, her eyes all but glowing with pride, hope, and the will to fight, and said strongly, "It was a job that someone had to do. Why not us?"

Naruto allowed her words to sink in. "Thank you," he said.

She turned to leave but before she started to climb down the broken wall she said over her shoulder, "The other Norowareta and I were talking and...would you mind teaching us that roar? One of them noticed the seal you did and figured it was a jutsu of some sort."

"Hai. Tell the rest of the Norowareta that I will teach them it as is their right for being Norowareta. You know," he said and looked at her, "I've never named that jutsu but I think I have finally figured one out that I like. Ninpo: Norowareta no Goon."

"Roar of the Cursed," Yoko muttered. "I like that."

Naruto watched Yoko leave and felt relief from the growing doubts that had been filling him mind and causing his heart to ache. He would have to visit his friends and send out reports with orders to Kagemusha and Ryutaro. He would have the blonde shinobi place a samurai in charge and come to Nomi with half his shinobi. The talking bear would stay at Keiro Pass but would need to prepare for the samurai and about a hundred and fifty shinobi. Naruto also need to have the Kanjo begin interrogations but he would have to have a word with them before they began.

He looked down as the hitai-ate that caused his mind to be troubled. He had obtained it from a captured Konoha shinobi but the symbol on it wasn't that of a leaf but a mountain with the symbol for new in it. The possibilities of what the hitai-ate meant stirred around in his mind and none of them were good.

He looked at the setting sun and watched as it called to an end a blood filled day.

* * *

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Until next time...  
-Unbiased Abyss


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

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Enjoy...

* * *

The sun rose but Naruto hardly noticed. He had spent the night watching over the Konoha prisoners, giving the shinobi guarding them a well deserved break, reading over scouting reports and civilian accounts of the happenings in the city, talked to families of some of the imprisoned shinobi and reassured them that they would be well taken care of, and worked on some seals that would make the handling of the prisoners easier.

Placing a finished seal onto a large stack of paper, he stretched his back and rubbed his eyes. A clone jumped up the tall wall that he was on. He sat, concealed, between jutting sections of the wall and pulled his mask on when his clone came into view.

The clone disappeared and Naruto became aware of the nights watch and the fact that a guard unit had taken over for him. Dispelling his clones, he stood and walked slowly down the wall. A messenger had found one of his clones in the middle of the night and told him that Takeshi had been pulled out of critical condition. Wanting to see his friends that were in the hospital, he decided to go there before he did anything else.

He walked around the barracks and followed the main road that parallel the straight wall that had been the focal point of the previous day's attack. During the night, several of the Yama clan had done some quick repair jobs to the road, large square, and the sections of wall that had been destroyed. Already, civilians were walking around and merchants were displaying their wares. None would guess that a major attack had occurred only the day before.

A large crowd drew his attention. The large square had a, now broken, fountain and the crowd was gathered around it. Standing on a section of raised stone, a man was talking passionately. He would shake his fist to accent one sentence and his facial expression would show his anger when saying another.

Naruto altered his route so that he would walk close by on his way to the hospital.

"This is only the first blow against the tyranny of Konoha," the man said. He was bald, over weight, and his jowls shook as he spoke. "We must be ever vigilant to the..."

Naruto stopped listening and focused on the hospital. It was a large tanish building on the corner of the square and the main road. He passed through the doors and found that the inside was typical of all hospitals: white, bright lighting, and the stench of disinfectant permeated the air.

He spotted a nurse, a plump woman with a haggard face. She must have been up the entire night helping the many injured that came in. "Excuse me," he said when he got within acceptable speaking distance.

She didn't look up from the clip board she held and said rudely, "Visiting hours haven't started yet. Come back at noon."

"Perhaps you will make an exception for me," he said slowly. The woman may have been rude but there was no sense in doing the same back.

"I've heard it all," she said. "Your wife is in critical condition or your child stayed-" she looked up at this point and stopped. Her eyes widened dramatically and she spoke hurriedly, "K-K-Kyubi-sama. I-I had no idea it was you."

He raised his hand to stop her and said in a warm, forgiving voice, "No harm done. I understand that this isn't visitation hours but, as I will be busy the rest of the day, I was wondering if an exception could be made. I would perfectly understand if this wasn't allowed."

"No," she stammered. "I apologize. I-I-I-"

"Stop."

She did.

"Take a breath and let it out slowly."

She, again, did as she was told. "Thank you," she said with a far more control that before. "Of course you can visit. Who did you wish to see?"

"There are several actually," he replied. "I would like to see Akiraka-san, the men and women who assaulted the wall, and Takeshi-san."

"I assume you mean, Akiraka Kizuna and Takeshi Yoso," she said. "Their room numbers are 227 and 342 respectively. As for the others you asked about, I'm afraid that without names there is little I can do. We've just had so many people come in that it would be impossible to remember them all."

"That's no problem, Nurse-san," a female voice called from down a hall.

Naruto looked and saw a medium height, slim, short cut red-head walking toward him. "Ah, Yoko-san," he said and gave a slight nod of his head.

She returned the gesture and said to the nurse, "If you don't mind, I know where the people he's asking about are."

The nurse gave the woman a relieved look and said, "I don't mind at all, Yoko-chan." She looked back at Naruto and said, "I'm sorry about my rudeness, Kyubi-sama. I'm from the village that was here before Konoha built Nomi and I want you to know that I, and the rest of the staff here, support you in this war. There will be civilians that speak against you but they are few and far between."

"I appreciate your support and hope that I live up to your and other's expectations," Naruto said. He nodded at Yoko and said, "Lead the way, Yoko-san."

She lead him down the hall she had come from, passing many rooms, until they entered one with the number, 145, on a plaque next to the door. Inside, Naruto was confronted with a large group of people. He did a quick count and found that there were thirty-eight men and women looking at him. The people ranged from short to tall, from heavily muscular to lean, from brunette to black hair, and each of them had bandages wrapped around several part of their bodies. Not a single one was uninjured.

Yoko stood to the side and said as she waved him in, "Kyubi-san, may I present to you the Norowareta."

He looked at them and they him. "Good morning," he said and waved a hand.

The people in the room looked at each other and immediately started to laugh. One man wiped his eyes and said loudly, "Good morning, he says."

Naruto leaned back and asked Yoko, "Did I say something odd?"

"They were just having a debate about how you would act when you were presented with them again," she said. Her eyes sparked with laughter and she hid a few giggle with her hand.

"And what I said amused them?"

"Some of them were convinced that you would come in, get on your knees, and thank them for their bravery," she answered, her voice getting louder as she attmepted to talk over the rising laughter of the other Norowareta. "Another group thought you wouldn't even show up to check on them. And the largest group thought that you would give them a speech about how you had a great plan for the next battle."

"So, the 'good morning' took them off guard," he concluded. It did his heart good to see these people laughing so soon after being in a terrible battle and it continued to remove the burden of doubt that had taken root in his mind. These people obviously felt that the battle had gone well, so he allowed himself to finally admit to himself that, while he regretted every life lost due to his planning, those lives were not lost in vain.

Naruto and the Norowareta talked for almost half an hour. He learned each of their names and ages as they conversed. He listened intently to them when they told about how they felt when they charged and of their pride for being Norowarera. Eventually it got to them talking about injuries, to which many of the men had great boasts.

"What about you, Kyubi-san," one of the men asked, turning the attention onto Naruto. "How many stitches and broken bones did you suffer?"

Another barked with laughter and managed to squeeze out between them, "Yeah. I saw you on the battlefield, kunai and arrows sticking out of you and blood flowing openly from large wounds."

Yoko folded her arms and nodded. "To be honest, I was surprised to find you outside of the hospital. You were in one hell of a state after the battle."

Naruto frowned and didn't say anything. His healing ability hadn't been a secret in his world but he didn't want it getting out in this one. A healing ability like his would be the envy of all shinobi clans and it would get rather complicated if he had to explain that it wasn't a Kekkei Genkai but an eternal chakra construct that had been sealed inside him in another dimension by that dimension's Yondaime Hokage.

"I asked a few of the nurses what room you were in when I was looking for you yesterday," she continued and her tone became more serious, "but they didn't have any records of you ever going to the hospital."

The room got silent and Naruto had no intention of changing that.

Yoko waited for him to answer and when he didn't she asked, "You did go to the hospital after the battle, didn't you?"

Biting the proverbial kunai, Naruto muttered, "I've been too preoccupied to go."

"You haven't had your injures taken care of?!" Yoko barked.

"I'm fine," he replied.

She growled and said, "I hate to be rube, Kyubi-san, but bullshit. You were heavily injured after the battle, that's a fact, and you need to see a medic-nin right now."

She turned to exit the room but was stopped when Naruto said darkly, "Yoko-san." She looked over her shoulder at him. "Please, close the door and take a seat."

She stood her ground for a moment or two before doing as ordered and taking a seat on the side of one of the two beds in the room.

Naruto took some time to gather his thoughts and when he was ready he said, "There is no reason for me to see a medic-nin."

"Bul-" Yoko started to say again but was cut off when Naruto raised his hand swiftly in a halting motion.

He turned his head toward her and said, "Allow me to explain." She nodded slowly and he continued, "What I'm about to tell all of you will put my life in great danger if it gets out." He waited and noted that everyone had a serious expression on their faces. "I have no need to see a medic-nin because I am already mostly healed from the injuries I sustained during the battle. The only one that is still healing is a hair line fracture in my left humerus."

Yoko frowned.

He sighed and said, "Does anyone here know a simple diagnostic jutsu?"

One of the men raised his hand and, at Naurto's bidding, preformed the jutsu on the masked blonde. When the man was done he had a shocked look on his face. "Holy shit," he muttered. "He's right. There are several areas that show signs of recent healing but the only real injury he has is the humerus. Hell, from what the jutsu told me it's as if he has never been in a battle his entire life beside the one yesterday."

Naruto thanked the man and said, "I'm not going to explain it but the only reason I ever need to see a medic-nin is if I'm dying. Call it a Kekkei Genkai if you wish but what I have isn't heritable."

"So," another Norowareta in the room said slowly, "if it ever got out that you had this...healing ability, you would be wanted by every clan that exists."

"And if it was discovered that it wasn't heritable, they would want to know how it works," another finished.

Naruto nodded grimly. "I trust this knowledge only to you, the Norowareta. If I am heavily injured in battle it would be much appreciated if one or a few of you would take me to a safe place and keep others away. My life is in your hands. Now, while this has been a rather revealing conversation, I have others in this hospital that I would like to visit."

"Of course," Yoko said. She walked out if the room with him, amidst many calls of farewell. "You're sure you're alright?" she asked.

"I'm fine, Yoko-san," Naruto said warmly. "Thank you for worrying about me."

The two parted ways and Naruto went to the second floor. He walked the halls, rewalked a few of them grumbling about confusing number systems as he did, and finally found the room he was looking for. He knocked and entered when a female voice called him in. The room was a single occupant room with a large window that let in the rays of the rising sun. There was a pot of flowers for decoration, an uncomfortable looking chair, and a hospital bed in the room and little else. In the bed he saw a smiling Akiraka.

"I was beginning to wonder when you might show up, Kyubi-san," she said as she set a book down on her lap.

He took off his mask, showing a happy smile, and hooked it to his side. "I would have been here sooner but the Norowareta kept me."

"The what?"

"A story for another time," he replied. He looked at the foot of her bed and took the medical clip board that hung there.

She glared at him. "You know you're supposed to ask before looking at those kind of things."

"Meh," he grunted back. Over all Akiraka's injuries were nothing too sever but did warrant a few days rest. Sure, he had been told before that Akiraka and Takeshi were fine but he liked to make sure of those things himself. "Sixteen," he read from the age box, "a little young to be leading a covert mission into an enemy city to plant charges on key targets."

"Old enough it would seem," she said back dryly.

He return the clip board to its place. "How are you?" he asked.

"Well, you did just read my file so..."

"You can be physically fine and still be in pain," he retorted.

She clasped her hands and looked out the window. "I'm fine, Kuybi-san. A little tired due to the battle and stress from the mission but will be fine after I get out of this mandatory bed rest. Anything you can do about that?"

He smirked. "Rest. This may be the last chance you get to in a long time."

"I suppose so," she whispered. "Oh, have you heard anything about Takeshi?"

"He's fine," Naruto answered. "It was touch and go there for a little bit but it would seem that he has pulled through the worst of it."

She sighed and her shoulders relaxed. "Thank Kami. I had heard that he was heavily injured but none of the nurses would tell me what happened. Something about patient confidentiality, a concept that you have trouble understanding apparently."

He grinned and told her what he knew about Takeshi's wounds and recovery.

"Kami, what an idiot," she muttered when he got done. "Well, an idiot he may be but he did save my life so I'll have to thank him the next time I see him. When are visiting hours?"

"I know they start at noon," Naruto provided.

She looked at the clock on the wall of her room and frowned. "It's seven-in-the-morning, how are you here?"

He pointed to himself and said, "Leader."

"Talk about an abuse of power," she said slyly.

He nodded. "A terrible thing. Sorry to cut this talk short however..." he trailed off.

"No need to feel awkward, Kyubi-san. Go and thanks for the visit," she said as she waved her hand in a shooing motion.

He turned to leave but before he reached the door he asked, "A while ago you said that I reminded you of someone you know, who were you talking to, if you don't mind my asking?"

A sad smile came to rest on her face and she answered, "I'm sorry, Kyubi, but-"

He nodded. "I understand. I'll see you later, Akiraka-san."

He placed his mask back on and left to find Takeshi's room. His room was on the third floor in the intensive care unit, so, after a flight of stairs and a quick chat with the doctors in charge of the unit, he found his white-haired friend. The man had several machines hooked up to him and was almost as pale as his hair color. His cheek bones jutted out and his eyes appeared a bit sunken.

He studied the man long enough to gain his attention and said, "You look like shit."

Takeshi laughed but it soon changed to a wet cough. When he finished a small bit of blood wet his lips and he said, "You should see the other guys."

"I think I might have breathed a bit of the other guys in after you incinerated them," Naruto joked as he picked up the medical records that hung from the bedrail. He read over it quickly. Most of the damage was repairable with the only concerning part being the chakra coils.

Takeshi must have noticed something grim about his body language and asked, "Worried about the chakra coils?"

"As much as you should be," he said as he replaced the clip board. "Chakra coil injures aren't something to laugh about."

"What do you know of my clan, Kyubi-san?" Takeshi asked.

"You're part of a clan?"

The man shrugged. "I don't make it well-known. Anyways, my clan has a Kekkei Genkai in that our coils repair themselves. Sure, we get put on our asses for about a week but when the coils are repaired we are as good as new."

"So the jutsu you used was supposed to burst those coils?" Naruto asked skeptically.

"Um, no," Takeshi answered, obviously embarrassed. "I put to much chakra into the jutsu and it went a bit over board. That jutsu I used was only supposed to be about a fifth as powerful as it was but I lost control of it and," he motion as much as he could to his predicament, "this is the result."

"Lost control?" Naruto questioned.

"Excuse me, Kyubi-sama," a doctor in a white coat said from the door. "Yoso-san needs his rest and I have to check a few things."

"That's fine," he told the doctor. He looked back to Takeshi and said, "We'll finish our conversation another time."

"Hai," Takeshi said.

**-Naruto: Rise of Iwa-**

Naruto left the hospital, walked by an even larger group of people who were gathered around the fat man, and went to the partially repaired wall. Upon arriving he saw the ethereal Yoi and Yami standing on a section of rubble.

He had a few quick words with the two, well, just Yoi. They were leaving to report to their clan but were unable to tell him if it was a good or bad report. He wished them safe travels and just before they left they told him something that should have been brought to his attention the previous day.

He cursed as he rushed to the shinobi barracks where the enemy shinobi were being held. He entered and found four Iwa shinobi in the front lounge of the building.

"Why was I not informed that an Ino Yamanaka was taken prisoner after yesterday's battle?" he asked all the shinobi in the lounge sternly.

The Kanjo, a female, in the room walked over to him and said, "Many of the shinobi captured were not identified until only an hour ago, Kyubi-sama. A messenger was sent out to look for you and I believe the poor soul may still be doing just that."

"I was at the hospital," he replied. "I informed the current guards of my whereabouts."

"The messenger was an excitable youth. I'm not sure how much he heard when he was being told where to find you."

"Oh, Kami," Naruto groaned. "Let the kid run around for now. It will be a good lesson about listening to orders. For now, can you please start going to each Konoha shinobi and ask them if they have family in the city. If they do, figure out who and have them come to claim them. When that happens you can give the shinobi the option of staying in the overcrowded barracks or staying with their family. They may be prisoners but I am not such a monster that I would deny a shinobi their family if they are so close. It will also help with the amount of food that we must provide to the prisoners."

"If you don't mind my asking but, what is to stop these shinobi from escaping?"

Naruto took out a stack of seals from his kunai pouch and offered them to her. "I made these just last night. Place the ink side of the seal onto the back of their necks and pulse some chakra into it. The seal will cut off their chakra, reduce their natural abilities to a tenth of what they really are, and only I can remove the seal after it is affixed. Put one on every Konoha shinobi that goes to stay with their family and any with that you feel might be a problem."

The Kanjo took the tags and said, "Restraining them while also showing mercy. A sound idea. What should I do if a shinobi is a friend of the family?"

Naruto mauled the question over quickly and answered, "With the seals on they are as weak, if not weaker, than a civilian so...I'll allow only one non-family member to go with a family."

"Understood."

"Now that the important issue is dealt with," Naruto said, "would you mind if I asked for your name?"

"My name, Kyubi-sama?"

"Kyubi-san is fine and yes, your name. I like to know people's names," he explained.

"Emi Kanjo," she said. "It is interesting that one in your position would be concerned about knowing the name of a shinobi of my rank."

"Rank means nothing to me," he commented. "Emi-san, can you please show me where Ino Yamanaka-san is being held?"

"Certainly. Another of my clan is interrogating her at the moment. I hope that we haven't done a wrong," she said and started walking down a hall.

"Nonsense," he calmed her concern. "Why would I be angered about your clan doing as I ordered?"

Even after living under the same roof as many of the Kanjo clan, Naruto never really got used to watching them walk around. The leather blindfold over their eyes told him that they couldn't see diddly and would bump into things but they never even got close. They walked with such a confidence and regality that he always envisioned royalty when he was with them.

Emi took him down a hall, up two flights of stairs, and down another hall before she was stopped by another of her clan.

"What are you doing here, Bishamon-san?" she asked, confusion evident in her voice.

"I should ask you the same," he replied evenly. "I got your message to meet you on the fifth floor at the north side of the building but you weren't there."

Naruto looked at the male Kanjo and said, "Take me to the interrogation room, now."

Bishamon, who must have connected the dots as fast as Naruto, bolted down the hall and Naruto and Emi followed close behind. The man stopped near a door and stood at the side of it. The pure-bloods of the Kanjo clan may have not been good at fighting but that didn't mean they weren't trained to handle combat situations when they arose.

Naruto motioned for the two to stand to the side and wiped his eyes toward the door when he heard the sound of wood breaking and struggling.

Without a seconds hesitation, he kicked the door open in an explosion of wood chips and dust. He stalked in and saw three Iwa shinobi and one Ino Yamanaka in the room. Two of the Iwa shinobi stood off to the side while the third had a kunai placed against Ino's neck.

No one moved. The door Naruto had kicked open squeaked and fell to the floor as Naruto had broken the hinges in his monstrous kick.

"Shinobi," Naruto growled. He fought to keep from making the man go unconscious with his killing intent as it would have terrible effects on the Kanjo behind him. "What were my orders concerning prisoners?"

The man licked his lips and stood slowly. "T-t-th-they ar-a-aren't to b-b-b-e h-harmed," he stuttered.

"And what were my orders pertaining to interrogations?"

The man didn't answer but looked down.

"Emi-san," Naruto said, his voice taking on a kinder tone but the edge of an order was still there, "please place a seal of each of these shinobi. Bishamon-san, when they are properly sealed, could you please take them to a room near the lounge. Their comfort isn't a priority."

The Kanjo performed their tasks and when the offending shinobi were gone Naruto finally took a good look at Ino. A multitude of emotions washed over him.

He and Ino hadn't really been friends until three years into the war. It was at that point, after a particularly nasty battle, that they actually talked for the first time. Sure, they had spoken to each other before but it was all mostly with a large group of friends, the specifics of a mission, or rushed explanations about how an ally got wounded. They had never really talked to each other as friends before that time. They found friendship in each other and would often take long walks together when they could find the time. If questioned about it he would even admit that feelings started to form between them.

None of that mattered however as Ino had been taken from him. A traitor had killed her and he had been the one to find her, bleeding out into green grass turned crimson. He had tried everything he could to keep her with him and before she passed he revealed to her his feelings. She died with a happy smile and her last words had been, "I love you too, Naruto-kun."

Enraged at the traitor and broken by the loss of his love, he hunted down the person responsable. Revenge was never worth it, just as he told Kagemusha, and even with the death of the traitor the ache in his heart didn't go away.

Love, companionship, hate, turmoil. All of those emotions and more passed through him when he looked at Ino.

A gasp drew his attention to the door and there he saw Emi focused on him. He cursed himself a fool for not keeping a cap on his emotions around a Kanjo and snapped, "We'll talk about it later."

The woman nodded and didn't say anything.

He looked back at Ino, reminding himself that she wasn't his Ino, and asked, "Are you hurt?"

The delicate blonde rubbed her neck and answered, "No. They didn't hurt me."

He offered her a hand up and said, "I apologize for my shinobi's actions. They were under orders to refrain from doing something like this and will be dealt with harshly, you can be sure of that."

She regarded his hand with suspicion and didn't take it. Se just looked at him and asked, "What's your game?"

"Ah," he muttered. He had thought it might come to something like this. The Yamanaka clan were masters of the mind and had incredible amounts of will. They had to because the way their clan jutsus worked was based solely on over powering their victims will. If Ino didn't want to say anything she wouldn't which meant that if Naruto wanted some information from her he would have to make her want to tell him or giver her an exchange.

"A game, you say?" he questioned. "Alright, lets play a game. You ask me a question and I'll answer it.. Then I'll ask you a question and you answer it."

Ino didn't answer immediately unlike what most shinobi in her position would do. She saw what he was giving her. She was a clan hier of Konoha which meant she would be an important political item to trade with. This meant that she would, eventually, go back to Konoha and any information she could bring back would be priceless.

She narrowed her eyes and asked, "How do you know I won't lie every time?"

"How do you know I won't?" he countered.

She gnawed on it for a few more seconds before nodding. She took his still offered hand and rose to her feet. He didn't let go of her until he knew she was stable and unharmed.

"Walk with me, Yamanaka-san," he said as he left the room. As he walked by Emi he asked, "Could you and Bishamon-san look to the prisoners?"

She frowned slightly and her head tilted minutely to one side, the Kanjo's expression that said they would have a talk later. "Hai," she said and left to gather her clansman.

"Shinranshin no jutsu," he heard Ino whisper and felt a slight jolt in his body. "Success," she said and fist pumped.

Naruto turned his head to look at her and said, "I wouldn't be so sure of that."

Ino's eyes got large and she took a step back. "How..." she said in clear confusion.

"I'm a bit disappointed in you, Yamanaka-san, but I guess I should have expected this," Naruto said. "You are a shinobi after all and if you had the opportunity to take over the leader of Iwa's army and subsequently capture him, well, every shinobi worth their salt would attempt such a thing."

"How?" she questioned and her voice shook just a little.

"The Yamanaka clan jutsu are based on overpowering the will of another. Obviously I have a greater will than yours."

She stared at him and seemed hesitant to even breathe no less say anything. It was understandable, Naruto supposed. She did just attack him and he was well within his right to punish her for it.

"How about that walk, Yamanaka-san?" he asked warmly.

A confused look crossed her face but she nodded. He gestured for her to follow him and lead her out of the building. The sun was high in the sky, the air warm but not suffocating, and a slight breeze rustled the leaves of the occasional plant in the village. He led her to the west gate and left the village. They walked on the road for sometime before he turned off into the forest and followed a clear trail.

It had been silent for the trip until Ino asked, "Why the mask?"

Naruto chuckled. "I was wondering when who would speak first," he said. He reached up into a tree and plucked a leaf from a low hanging branch. He held it up to her and asked, "What's this?"

Her nose scrunched up like it always did when she was perplexed. She would hate it when he pointed it out but he had always thought it cute. He mentally berated himself. This wasn't his Ino.

His Ino was dead and gone.

"It's a leaf," she answered slowly unaware of his mental battle.

"Correct and what does it represent?"

"New life. Growth. Umm-" she started listing.

Naruto smiled. "You are thinking too specific. You're a shinobi, Yamanaka-san. What does a leaf mean to you?"

Her eyes brightened and said, "Konoha."

"Correct," he said. A quick flash of chakra and the leaf was engulfed in flames. He dropped it and stepped on it to put it out. He reached up and snatched another leaf from the tree. "And what's this and what does it represent?"

Scrunched nose, Ino answered, "A leaf and Konoha."

"Ah, but didn't the last leaf represent Konoha as well?" he asked.

"Yes, but it only represents a greater thing. The leaf isn't Konoha and it doesn't matter what leaf you pick as the greater meaning will always be there." She was about to say more when she stopped talking and her mouth opened slightly. "You represent something greater," she whispered.

"Not me," Naruto corrected. "Kyubi. A person can be corrupted, tarnished, and forgotten but a symbol is much more durable. Kyubi represents the wrath of Iwa and the hope of the people. I could die some day and another could take up my mask. The person wearing the mask may fade but Kyubi will never die. Hope will never die."

Ino nodded slowly.

"My turn," he said. "What do you do for a hobbie?"

"What?"

"A hobbie, something that you do to relieve stress. What do you do?"

She shook her head and raised a hand. "I know what a hobby is but what kind of question is that? I thought you were going to ask me about shinobi placements, clan weaknesses, the least patrolled routes in Konoha, or something like that."

"What would be the point of any of those questions?" He asked more aloud than to her. "I can gather shinobi placements by scouts, I've made a hobby of figuring out clan weaknesses, and I have no intention of ever entering Konoha during this war. Besides, there is little you could tell me in regards to important information that I could trust. You are a shinobi after all."

She looked at him for a second. "I like flowers," she answered. "My family owns a flower shop in Konoha and I like working at it. I may complain about it all the time to my father but I secretly like it. All the flowers have different meanings and I love to arrange them in ways that show how I'm feeling at that time."

"Flower arrangements," he mused. "Never would have thought a cold-blooded shinobi would have such a lady like hobby."

She pouted but her lips slightly curved into a smile.

He had, of course, already known what her hobby was. He would often find her out in the fields gathering flowers and making arrangements that would then decorate the camp. He would always take one and hide it in his room. Flowers were innocent things and smelled nice too.

"Who are you?" she asked and snapped him out of his memories.

"Now that would be telling, Yamanaka-san, but I suppose I could tell you a little about myself," he said. "I come from far away and have been fighting in wars almost my whole life."

She waited for him to say more and visibly deflated when he didn't. "That really was a little," she mumbled.

He laughed softly. "Do you like Konoha?"

"Yes. It might not be the perfect place but it is my home. You said you come from far away, if that's the case, why do you fight?" she asked as they entered a clearing.

"When I first arrived in Iwa I discovered a village that had been slaughtered. I didn't know who had done it but they spared none. Men and women littered the ground and the corpses of children stood as monuments to the evil that had befallen the place. It was during my exploration of the village that I found a small child and was also found by ANBU. The ANBU identified Konoha as the destroyers of the village and even attempted to kill the child in front of my eyes. They believed me an ally, part of the Horo Guild, and suffered for it with their lives."

He turned his masked face toward Ino and finished, "You ask me why I fight. I fight because I don't want to see anymore destroyed villages. I fight because I can't so easily turn my back on the innocent. I fight because it is the right thing to do."

Ino studied him. "Konoha would never do such a thing," she stated.

"And yet it did. Everyone likes to think that what they fight for can do no evil, that what they fight for is somehow impervious to being corrupted, but the sad truth is that corruption is far more common place than anyone cares to think."

She turned her eyes from him and he suspected that she was thinking about what he said. "Do you have many friends?"

"Hai," she answered. "I have many."

"As do I," he said.

She reached down a picked a flower that was growing in the clearing that they were walking around. It was a deep purple with a soft yellow in the middle. "When will I get to see them again, Kyubi-san?" she asked sadly.

"I don't honestly know. This war has become far more confusing than it originally was and I am beginning to question who my enemy truly is. At the moment, all I can tell you is that I will do everything in my power to return you to Konoha safely and that goes for every Konoha shinobi we have prisoner. This war isn't about conquering or revenge but winning back Iwa's independence."

Ino stayed quiet as the somber mood passed. "I think it is your turn," she said softly.

He smiled and said warmly, "I'll allow you another as the last question was more out of emotion than anything else."

She smiled, her white teeth perfect, and asked, "What's your favorite color?"

Naruto laughed. He spent the next two hours talking with the young blonde about unimportant things. They both seemed to forget about the rest of the world as they talked and worries flew away. Looking at the two none would have guessed that they were prisoner and captor, Konoha shinobi and Iwa shinobi, supposedly bitter enemies. Their walk finally ended back at the barracks where Naruto regretfully had to place a seal on Ino to make sure she wouldn't try to take over one of his shinobi. She had accepted the seal with a smile and told him that she understood, she was a shinobi after all.

Naruto spent the rest of the day dealing with the many things that came with leading an army. The only thing of true interest that had happened in that time was the discovery of kinzoku or 'chakra metal' as shinobi called it. The metal was interesting because it naturally channeled chakra through it. A common misconception about the metal was that it was amazing for shinobi to have but that wasn't the case. Shinobi already had the ability to channel their chakra into different things, otherwise they wouldn't be able to perform their jutsu.

No, this metal was perfect for samurai. Samurai didn't know how to channel chakra at all but with weapons crafted from kinzoku they could. The chakra infused weapons would be far shaper than other weapons and be less inclined to break. A master blacksmith could even infuse an element into the weapon but Naruto had none in his ranks that could boast such a feat.

He ordered the metal crafted into katana for the samurai that would be passing through Nomi and many of the local smiths who were loyal to  
Iwa volunteered to help. There was only enough metal for a little less than eighty blades but even that amount could turn the tide of battle.

Night settled over the village and Naruto watched the last of the reports given to him burn to ash. One of them had been a confirmation to an order he had sent out hours ago and was happy that his shinobi trusted him enough to follow the strange command. He rubbed at his eyes and looked forward to sleeping even if it would only be for a few hours. However, before he could solidify the idea in his mind a shinobi came rushing into his office. Their face was red and eyes alert, if not a bit wild.

"Kyubi-san," the man gasped. "There has been a prisoner escape!"

Naruto tented his hands and said calmly, "Explain."

"Two of the shinobi who went with their family escaped from the west gate when the guards got into an argument. It was only discovered because the shinobi performing the random home visits you set up for the prisoners discovered their absence."

"Very good," Naruto said as things were going according to his plan. "Please alert the necessary shinobi that I will be stepping out for the night."

"Kyubi-san?" The man sounded confused.

"Don't worry yourself, shinobi-san. I will look to the escapees," Naruto said as he left the room.

He hurried out of the village and picked up on the Konoha shinobi's trail easily. The shinobi were without their chakra and had their family with them so they would be moving slow and unable to completely cover their tracks.

He followed the trail into the forest and it wasn't long until he heard quiet talking.

"Do you think they know we're gone?" a female voice asked.

A male grunt of confirmation answered her.

Naruto moved silently and the runaway shinobi came into view. The female was slim and had long black hair. She scanned the woods as their small group took a break. The man, a medium build fellow, was checking on a small boy who sat on an overturned tree and near him was a teenage daughter who, while good-looking, was obviously not a shinobi with the way she dressed and held herself.

Naruto watched them for a minute or two before he stepped partially into the moon light that showered the tiny clearing they were in. The female spotted him immediately and the man turned quickly with a kunai in his hand.

"What have we here?" Naruto asked loudly. "Two shinobi and their children attempting to escape to...where exactly?"

The two Konoha shinobi stayed silent but the female did move to cover the daughter. Fright filled both of their eyes as well as determination. Naruto could see it, those two would do anything to protect their family.

"Don't hurt my parents!" He small boy yelled and came running from behind his father.

The man-made to grab the boy but with the restrictions that the seal placed on him he missed by a hair. The boy charged Naruto and punched him in the leg. He continued punching wildly as he screamed for his family's safety. Snot ran down his nose and tears stained his face.

Naruto crouched and caught one of the wild punches, startling the boy. He straightened the boy's arm, tapped his leg slightly, and turned his body. "There," he said. "If you're going to punch someone do it like that. You'll get a lot more force and will have less of a chance at injuring your elbow this way."

The boy gave him a bewildered look and Naruto told him, "I have no intention of harming your family, child. You are brave beyond words and I am humbled by your love for your family."

The boy lowered his arm and took a cautious step back. He took a few more before his father grabbed him and pulled him to safety.

"Where are you heading this time of night, Konoha-san?" Naruto asked.

It was the woman who answered, "We were going to Konoha. But it appears that we weren't cautious enough."

"Nonsense," Naruto said. "You've made it this far, haven't you?"

"Only to be caught by you," the male growled.

"Why go to Konoha? Hanma is much closer," Naruto asked, ignoring the anger the man exuded.

The man hesitated but the female said, "The Occupation Force is out of line. There are rumors of Konoha shinobi killing civilians in cold blood and we have each been approached by some of our closest friends asking us to join the revolution."

"Revolution?" Naruto questioned.

"Something called, 'Neo Iwa'," the man answered.

"So my suspicions were right," Naruto muttered. "You head to Konoha to inform the Hokage about this then?"

They nodded.

"Then you will travel faster without those seals on the back of your necks," Naruto said much to the surprise of the two Konoha shinobi.

"You would remove them? Why?" the man questioned.

Naruto answered, "Because this information reaching the Hokage will only benefit me. Think about it, if the Hokage catches wind of a possibly large-scale betrayal he will be reluctant to send anymore shinobi into Iwa for fear of them being turned on. That severely limits the number of enemies that I must deal with in this war. It is also possible that the Hokage will order the Konoha shinobi to return to Konoha to flush out the traitors. The Occupation Force has already lost about a fifth of its overall forces and to keep the rest here would be asking for more unneccessary losses then there needs to be. Iwa will become free again, there is no stopping it."

"We have only our words," the man said. "That isn't enough to convince the Hokage to take action."

Naruto held out a bundle and said, "Take this then."

The two looked at each other and the man inched forward. He took it from Naruto's hand and unwrapped the tan cloth to find a hitai-ate.

"I obtained that from a Konoha shinobi that was captured," he explained. "There is your evidence."

"How can we trust this?" the man asked.

Naruto shrugged. "You can't. Your getting that from the leader of the Iwa forces who would only benefit from the creation of suspicion in the Konoha forces. It all comes down to trust. I'm giving it to you to do with as you please. If you don't trust it then cast it aside but if you are so certain that this betrayal exists that you would endanger the lives of your children in this escape attempt then I ask you, why wouldn't you trust it?"

The man thought about what Naruto said. He nodded twice and turned around. "Remove the seal."

"Dear!" the man's wife exclaimed.

"Kasha, if he wanted to kill us he would have done so already," he said confidently. "If all the stories we've heard of this man were true, he would have killed Teemo in a heartbeat. Think about it, who have we heard all of those rumors from?"

Kasha nodded her head slowly. She looked at Naruto and said, "Please don't hurt Mifu."

Naruto took a step forward and placed a hand on the back of the man's neck. He pulsed his chakra and the seal evaporated in a cloud of black dust.

"Much better," the man sighed.

Naruto repeated the process with Kasha. He provided the two with kunai pouches and storage scrolls with enough food for them to make the trip.

Just before they left the man, Mifu, bowed deeply to him and said. "You are nothing like what the rumors paint you. If we had met under different circumstances I would have undoubtedly called you a friend."

"Still can," Naruto said. "I fight for Iwa's independence not the destruction of Konoha."

The man nodded and they exchanged a hand shake before the family ran off with the children on the backs of the parents.

The plan had gone better than expected. He had sent a message to Emi to target a family that were at risk of attempting an escape. He then had a patrol of shinobi walk by the house of the family. The patrol talked loud enough that the family would be able to gather that Iwa was short on shinobi and that the guards at the west gate hated each other. It was a calculated chance that the family would attempt it and they did to his benefit.

He mentally patted himself on the back for a plan well made and a deep rumbling in his mind signalled that Kurama had chuckled. He took one last look around the clearing and noticed something that he had missed when he had been talking with the Konoha shinobi. Covered by thick amounts of vines and brush was a stone wall and when he made a closer inspection of it he found that it was a building.

It was old, obviously, and hadn't been disturbed for some time. He circled it three times before he finally found the door and cut away the vines. He entered and found that the roof had collapsed long ago. What was the remains of a table litter the floor and a book case scattered its moldy contents on the floor. He kicked at a few things when something caught his eyes. It was a small scroll that was neatly rolled around an ivory rod.

He grabbed it and unrolled it carefully. The kanji in it was old and faded but he could still make it out. Amazingly, it was a summoning scroll. What it summoned, he had no idea, but to find such a thing in an old abandoned building in the middle of the forest made him even more interested in finding out. When his world was destroyed, so too were the toads he had called friends. He knew he would never be a signer of the toad contract in this dimension and to have another summon would be highly beneficial.

'Sign it, Kit,' Kurama suddenly said.

'What's with the interest, Kurama?"

'I've seen many things in my life and when I find something that it completely novel to me I become very curious. I have never seen this summon contract before and I want to know what manner of creature it is connected to.'

'It can be dangerous to just sign a contract without knowing what it is your connecting yourself with. It would be best to wait until-'

'Do it.'

'Damn it, Kurama. I said-'

'Do it. Do it. Do it. Do it. D-'

'What are you doing?'

'Telling you to do it,' the chakra construct said matter-of-factly.

'Well you're acting like a child,' Naruto snapped.

'New thing. Curious. Do it,' the eternal being grunted back.

Naruto heard Kurama take a completely unnecessary and exaggerated breathe and growled, "Fine. I'll sign the damn thing."

As he laid down the scroll he had to admit that he was curious as well. The thing looked so old that there probably wouldn't be anyone who would know what it was connected to and he would have to sign it any way to find out. Might as well do it in a remote place than in the middle of a village the size of Nomi.

He cut his thumb with a kunai and scrolled his name in the next open column. He slapped his hand below his name and forced chakra into the scroll. Instantly a loud screech cut into the air and Naruto heard several poofs that signaled several summons appearing.

'Strange,' he thought. 'I didn't summon anything.'

One of the poofs was right in front of him and what he saw caused him to pause for a second. The thing had eight hairy legs, eight eyes, and two large fangs. It was a pure white spider the size of his hand.

Another screech pierced the air and Naruto casted his gaze around the room to see that there were three other poofs. The spiders that appeared looked deformed with extra legs in random places and eyes were there shouldn't have been eyes.

The white spider in front of him let out a high-pitched squeak and ran under a plank of wood. Naruto didn't have any time to respond because the abominations jumped at him. He thought about how much killing these spiders would piss off the rest of the summons and decided to take his chances. Three expertly thrown kunai caught the monstrosities in the air and ended their lives.

He looked back at the white spider who had run under the board. He crouched and said, "Hello?"

A hairy white leg poked out from under the board and the squeaky voice asked, "Are they gone?"

"If you mean the other spiders, then yes," he answered.

The spider hesitated and moved slowly out form under the board. It looked up at him and said to itself, "A human?" It seemed to register what it had said and squeaked louder, "A human?!"

Naruto frowned when the spider bolted back under the board. "Does my being human frighten you?"

"Humans are evil!" it screeched back.

Naruto nodded slowly and looked at the spiders he had killed. "What was wrong with those spiders?"

"Not spiders. Oshoku. Created by you humans to kill us spiders." It paused for a moment. "What happened to them? Are they here?"

"They're dead now," he answered.

"How?"

Naruto tilted his head. The spider was asking such ridiculous questions that it reminded him of a child. Deciding to humor it, he said, "I killed them."

"You did?" it asked in disbelief.

"Yes."

"Really?"

Naruto stopped himself from sighing. "Yes, really."

The spider came out slowly. It didn't come any closer to him but studied him intently from its place next to the board. "I've never seen a human before," it said with wonder in its high-pitched voice.

"Well, I've never seen a spider as big as you before," he countered.

"Me? Big? But I'm tiny compared to my older siblings and cousins but...you think I'm big?"

"Biggest spider I've ever seen," he answered.

White smoke enveloped him and he unsheathed his ninjato on reflex as his free hand started to flash through one-handed seals. The small white spider squeaked which was soon drowned out by loud scratching sounds and grotesque cries from hundreds of inhuman throats. He could tell from the noise that he was surrounded.

The white cloud cleared and everywhere he looked were spiders. The largest was as big as a small house, the smallest was the size of a grown man, and each of them had all their eyes on him.

'Kurama.'

'Yeah,' the chakra construct answered with poorly hidden interest.

'I blame you for this.'

* * *

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Until next time...  
-Unbiased Abyss


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